


Game START! Hero Academia

by DVD181



Category: Kamen Rider - All Media Types, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: A few Build characters show up, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, Crossposted on Fanfiction.net, Gen, High School, I mean A LOT of Character Development, MAJOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, No Beta reader - we die like real men, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-01-25 00:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 55,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21347638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DVD181/pseuds/DVD181
Summary: In a world where heroes and villains alike dominate the collective consciousness of society, there are those who fight even greater, inhuman threats in the shadows...Izuku Midoriya is a boy who was born without powers, until he inherited the power of the Number One Hero, All Might.  Now he fights to become a real hero while avoiding the machinations of those who would love to see him destroyed, along with all other heroes.Emu Hojo is a former professional gamer who gave up his life of fortune and fame.  He now trains to become a hero, while secretly battling a dangerous digital virus out of the public eye, not knowing that a dangerous, decade-long conspiracy is centered around him and his powers.Watch these two teens become heroes, while thwarting villains and Bugsters alike.  Game Start!  This is your Hero Academia!ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Relationships: Houjou Emu & Kujou Kiriya, Midoriya Inko/Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Midoriya Izuku & Everyone
Comments: 8
Kudos: 13





	1. Stage 1: Become a Hero! The Entrance Exam!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the entrance exam, and Izuku finds out he's far less ready than he thinks...but luck is on his side in more ways than one...

**CHAPTER 1: BECOME A HERO! THE ENTRANCE EXAM!**

* * *

_The nigh-sacred grounds of UA, the single best hero school in the world. There may be other schools out there, but none of their programs compare to UA’s. Graduating from the school is practically a requirement for being a top-notch hero. It’s list of alumni includes legends such as All Might himself, the legendary Symbol of Peace; Endeavor, the hero with more wins than anyone else; the denim-clad marvel, Best Jeanist; and the two-in-one detective, Double. Now…I take my first step towards being a pro hero!_

* * *

The green-haired boy made his way towards the front entrance of the massive H-shaped building in front of him. It was a beautiful February morning, and the cool air was alive with the energy of hundreds of excited, nervous, anxious or eager teens, ready to become part of UA High’s next generation of heroes. For many, this was the start of their new path in life…as heroes.

As Izuku Midoriya walked towards UA’s entrance, his mind wandered back to the events of the morning, when he’d inherited All Might’s Quirk, the sacred torch known as One For All…by eating a piece of the man’s hair. His stomach moaned in slight protest for having to process that meal, but the boy ignored it, continuing forwards, not noticing a hazardous cobblestone or some more distinctive students, including a boy with spiky red hair, a boy with fluffy lavender hair, a boy with a large tail or a boy with a crimson biker jacket draped over his shoulders.

“Dammit Deku; you’re STILL going to try for the Hero Course, even without a Quirk? ” came an annoyed voice from behind the boy, as he spun around, seeing a familiar temperamental blonde, one Katsuki Bakugo. “Oh…hi Kacchan” the boy mumbled, not scared after his 10-month training program with All Might so much as surprised. “I keep telling you that you should just settle for the Business Course; you’d actually amount to something there” the blonde said. “Wh-What do you mean?” Midoriya asked. “I’ve seen your stupid notebooks, Deku; you may be a Quirkless loser, but you’ve got a better brain than all the extras from our old school put together” the blonde snorted, rolling his eyes as he walked away. “Jus don’t get in my way.”

“_Huh. This is the first time in years that I’ve seen Kacchan and NOT been scared out of my wits, even when he wasn’t trying to beat on me. Does One For All give some kind of…confidence boost?_” the boy wondered, mildly perturbed as he started walking again. “_And was that a…compliment?_”

“_Probably just your imagination_” a small voice in his head responded. The boy freaked out. “_What?! When did I get this voice in my – you know what, this isn’t real; you’re just a figment of my imagination_” the boy calmed himself down. “_Oh, I’m real alright, big boy…_” the voice responded, sounding almost…feminine?

“_Deep breaths, Izuku. Remember: you’re here to become a hero, and you don’t have any voices in your head. You can do this._” the boy thought, just as he tripped on the cobblestone. “_Or maybe this is how I die-?_” he wondered, before losing all his momentum downward. “_Huh? I was falling, right?_” Looking to his left, the boy saw a brunette girl smiling at him. “I stopped your fall with my Quirk. Sorry I didn’t ask first! It would be bad luck to fall on the day of the entrance exam, right?” she said, smiling so brightly that Midoriya briefly had to avert his eyes. “_So…bright._” The boy thought.

“I guess I’ll see you later. Good luck in the exam!” the girl finished, before walking off towards the school. “_Did…did I just talk to a girl? Holy wow!_” Midoriya thought, his face glazing over in a massive grin. “_Oh stow it_” another part of him thought “_You didn’t really talk at all_” the voice in his head snarked at him. “_Well…I guess that’s true._” The boy thought once more, before continuing inside. “_And you’re really real? Ugh, this’ll take some getting used to._” The voice didn’t answer. “_Perfect, I’m going crazy…_”

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia, opening 1 – The Day**

** _Shizukesa ga shimikomu you de iki wo tometa gozen goji_ **

** _Hijou kaidan de tsume wo kamu Asu wa docchi da?_ **

** _THE DAY HAS COME!_ **

** **

_All Might is shrouded in golden light. Midoriya reaches out to him and the Symbol of Peace turns around to face the boy. The title is shown as an image of each member of 1-A is shown: Uraraka, Iida, Bakugo, Asui, Kirishima, Hojo, Kujo, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Jirou, Sero, Tokoyami, Aoyama, Ojiro, Ashido, Sato, Hagakure and Todoroki, in order._

** _Keshite akenai yoru mo furitsuzukete yamanai ame mo_ ** ** _  
Kono rokudemo nai sekai ni wa aru nda yo  
Sukoshi mo hen de wa nai no madoromi ni ashi o torareteru  
Anata o semete iru wake ja nai nda yo  
  
_ **

_Midoriya walks through the rain on an overpass. Hojo clicks the Mighty Action X Gashat, and the scene changes._

** _  
Hitori kūsō ni asobu  
Soko de omoiegaita koto made hajiru no kai?  
  
_ **

_Midoriya and Bakugo are shown as children, before the scene shifts into them as teenagers, as the turn around and clash with each other. Shigaraki appears and reaches towards the screen, before the screen shows Parado, his eyes flashing red._

** _  
Karamiau meikyū meikyū soredemo yuku to iu no?  
Chīsaki tabibito ga kanaderu hajimari no kane no ne_ **

** **

_All Might and the Nomu engage in a brawl as Aizawa deals with several minor villains. Kurogiri and Graphite appear briefly. A few other UA teachers are shown: Nezu, Present Mic, Midnight, Recovery Girl, Taiga and Hiiro, before the scene shifts again._

** _  
Yuku ate mo DON'T KNOW DON'T KNOW_ **

** _Hontō wa kowain ja nai no?_ ** ** _  
Fumidasu sono ippo ippo ga kaete yukeru sa  
THE DAY HAS COME_ **

_Uraraka, Iida, Shoji, Todoroki, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Hojo, Kujo and Bakugo are shown running onscreen, before the scene cuts to Midoriya in his hero costume, throwing a punch identical to All Might’s. The opening concludes with a few shots of the students, then an image of the main cast posing in front of UA._

* * *

Inside the auditorium where the Hero Course Exam Orientation was being held, Midoriya sat down at his assigned seat (regrettably right next to Katsuki) as the Master of Ceremonies, Present Mic, began his introduction. “Heyo little listeners! Welcome to the orientation for UA High’s Hero Course! C’mon, let me hear you!” he shouted…receiving silence from the audience. “Plus Ultra” snarked one kid, wearing a leather jacket. “Keeping it low-key today, eh? That’s okay with me! Let’s get right to the meat of this orientation!” shouted the MC.

“Oh my god, it’s the Voice Hero, Present Mic! I listen to his radio show every day! Mumble mumble mumble” Midoriya began, while Bakugo simply rolled his eyes. “Ugh, quit it, Deku.” The blonde groaned, holding a hand to the side of his head as if a headache was coming on. “Anyway, here’s how it’ll go! You’ll all be in 10-minute mock battles in super-hip mock cityscapes! As soon as I drop the mic here, you’ll all go to your designated centers! Sound good?”

As silence reigned, everyone looked to their notecards. “I see…they’re splitting us up so that we can’t work with our friends. Tricky bastards.” Bakugo noted, while shooting a glare at Midoriya. “I was looking forward to squashing you, too…” the explosive blonde trailed off, while Midoriya looked away. “Anyway little listeners, here’s how it’ll go! There’s three types of robots you’ll have to destroy, with point values based on their difficulty. To pass, you’ll need to shred these robots like a wicked guitar solo! No attacking other students; that’ll get you disqualified, ya dig?”

“Excuse me, but I have some questions” a voice came from the audience, as a spotlight shined on a tall boy with glasses. “You only talked about three types of robots, but listed four on the handouts. If this is an error on official UA materials, it Is utterly shameful. This institution is too prestigious to make such mistakes acceptably” the boy lectured. “And you there!” he continued, pointing at Midoriya. “Cease your distracting muttering at once! It is distracting and disgraceful. If you can’t take this seriously, leave.” “S-sorry” muttered the greenette. “Oh, put a sock in it, academy boy” muttered the boy in the leather jacket, much to the distress of the boy with glasses.

“Thanks for calling in with your request, examinee 7111! The fourth type is worth zero points, and will serve only as an obstacle. Try to avoid it as best you can and focus on the ones with point values, ya dig?” Present Mic explained, while the glasses boy bowed and took his seat. “I see…” mumbled a generic examinee to another equally generic examinee next to him. “It’s like a trap to avoid in a video game.” “The whole thing is like a big video game” the other examinee said. A chuckle caught their attention, as the looked behind them to see a dark-haired boy playing a video game on his portable console. “A big game, eh? Bring it on” the boy said, and the other two could swear that, just for a moment, his eyes flashed red.

“That’s all for today! I’ll go off air with a sample of our school motto! As General Napoleon Bonaparte once said, ‘A true hero is one who overcomes any adversities to save the day!’ Now, Go Beyond…PLUS ULTRA!” Present Mic shouted, greeted with silence. “Good luck, Kacchan” said Midoriya. “Tch…like I need it, Deku” the blonde said, before standing up and exiting the auditorium.

And so, the teens gathered at UA that day went forward to tackle the entrance exam in a bid to become the heroes to tomorrow…not knowing just what dangers might face them in the future…

* * *

One twenty-minute bus ride, a large group of examinees, including Midoriya, were dropped in front of Training Ground Beta, one of several massive mock cityscapes on UA grounds, to conduct their practical exam. The day had warmed up a bit as the sun rose, and it was most certainly not sweatshirt weather anymore.

“_Okay, this is it. A mock battle…why are none of the others nervous?_” Midoriya wondered to himself, looking around at the other examinees, including a tall boy with multiple arms, a blonde boy with an ornate belt, the kid in the leather jacket from earlier, a dark haired boy with a pink shirt and…the round-faced girl who had saved him an ugly bump on the head. For a moment, he could swear he saw Pink Shirt’s eyes flash red. Midoriya stiffly moved to thank the girl, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

The greenette turned around to see the tall boy with the glasses “_Crap, he’s here too?_” Midoriya panicked to himself. “She looks like she’s concentrating in preparation for the test. What do you intend to do? Distract her and ruin her chances of success, just as you attempted earlier with the entire audience?” the boy asked. “Wha-? No-!” Midoriya began. The other examinees began staring at him. “Hey, didn’t he almost eat dirt outside this morning?” one asked. “Easy pickins’” another laughed. “_Dammit, they’ve all written me off_!” he screamed internally. “_Pretty easy when you’ve already written yourself off_” the voice in his head said back.

“Hey now, don’t be so hard on this dude. I doubt he means any harm to the girl” the boy in the leather jacket said, walking over to the two. “And who are you? What relation do you have to this individual, and do you speak for him?” the tall boy asked.

“Kiriya Kujo-!“ Leather Jacket Boy began, before being cut off by a loud voice from overhead. “START!” shouted Present Mic, as the examinees looked at the concrete tower the voice hero stood in. “C’MON, GET MOVING! THERE’S NO COUNTDOWNS IN THE REAL WORLD!” The entire crowd had a collective look of “_Oh shit_” cross their faces before they all took off running, briefly leaving a stunned Midoriya in the dust. “_Crap! Wait up!_” the boy panicked internally, as he took off running. The boy’s physical training paid off quickly, as he caught up fairly quickly, although both Leather Jacket and Glasses had zoomed far ahead; they appeared to have speed Quirks.

The greenette ran through the city, eyes darting left to right. “_I can’t lose here. I have All Might’s power in me; I simply refuse to fail!_” he thought, before thinking back to something All Might said earlier. “_I want you to clench your buttcheeks and yell, from the bottom of your heart…SMAAAAAASH!_” A One-Point robot burst through a nearby wall, noticed Midoriya and acknowledged the boy’s presence. “**Target Acquired: Beginning Attack**” came a garbled robotic voice, as it sped towards the petrified boy. “_Why can’t I move?!_” the boy panicked, waiting for the robot to reach him…

…Only for the robot to be interrupted by Leather Jacket – no, Kujo, zooming in like a bolt of red lightning and casually decapitating the robot with a kick. “Hey now, Greenie, be careful. Won’t get any points if you just stand there. Good luck; time’s a-wasting!” And with that, he zipped down the street, making a sharp left into an alleyway. “_Wonder what he meant by that?_” the boy thought, before Present Mic answered his mental question. “NLY SIX MINUTES AND TWENTY SECONDS ARE LEFT!”

“_Shit shit shit shit!_” the boy thought, turning a corner and running to a large square, before stopping at the sight before him. Destroyed robots littered the square. The round-faced girl ran by, touching several robots and causing them to float into the air, before dropping them to the ground by touching her fingers together and saying “Release!” “That makes 28 points!” the girl said, before running off.

The tall boy dove in and delivered a powerful kick, obliterating a Two-Pointer. “45 points!” he called. The silver-haired boy with multiple arms tore a One-Pointer apart with his bare hands. “25!” he called. The pink-shirted boy ran by, jumping almost 40 feet vertically and performing a diving kick on a Three-Pointer. “42!” he shouted, eyes flashing red again.

In a room full of glowing monitors, six figures sat in chairs looking at the video feeds from the exam. “It seems the examinees have no idea how many enemies there are or where most of them are. The tentacle boy may have the best handle out of anyone where the foes are” noted a voice. “I think it’s time to put the tactics of these youngsters to the test – the REAL test, that is” said another voice, pushing a large red button labeled “KAIJU SWITCH”.

The ground exploded in a cloud of dust and rubble as a huge robot burst into the training area, windows cracking as it rolled by. Midoriya looked up at the green goliath, taller than most buildings, and recognized it as a Zero-Point robot. “_This seems a little extreme to me!_” he thought, as the robot threw a massive punch, creating a windstorm that reduced visibility to zero for a few moments. As the other students ran past him, Midoriya looked up at the huge robot, almost paralyzed in fear despite his recent confidence boost. The tall boy ran past, watching him for a few moments, before continuing away from the battle. “_Come on, you damn wimp! You can’t give up that easily! Do you really want to be a hero, dammit?_” the voice in his head snapped, clearly irritated.

“TWO MINUTES LEFT!” shouted Present Mic, causing Izuku to panic even more. “_No! All the training All Might gave me…it can’t go to waste!_” thought the boy as he started to scramble away, stopping in his tracks when he heard a voice cry “HELP! PLEASE!” He turned around to see the nice girl from earlier trapped under a piece of debris, the Zero-Pointer bearing down on her rapidly. Immediately, his brain went onto overdrive, trying to deduce the best way to get the girl out of there without having to fight the monstrous mecha. “_I thought it would be bad luck to fall on the day of the exam_” the girl’s words rang through his mind. Midoriya got back to his feet. He knew what he had to do.

***Cue You Say Run** *****

“_There are no points awarded for taking on the giant Zero-Point villain_” All Might thought as Midoriya ran like a bolt of lightning towards the giant robot. “_But there is opportunity._” The boy’s legs glowed as he shot himself into the sky, right towards the robot’s face, creating a massive pressure wave that dispersed the dust cloud, drawing the gazes of all the other students upwards. “_An opportunity to show what you’re really made of; what kid of heroic heart lies in even the weakest of bodies!_” Midoriya pulled his arm back, glowing with tendrils of red energy as he flew towards the giant.

“_Now clench your buttcheeks kid, and yell it from the depths of your heart!_” “SMAAAASH!” yelled Midoriya, as he swung his fist, releasing a pressure wave that caved the robot’s face in and blew it over, explosions trailing down its’ body, while the other examinees stared in shock, eyes wide. “_That’s right! Embody what it means to be a hero. Nothing is nobler…than self sacrifice._” At this point, a stunned Midoriya realized that he was almost two hundred feet in the air…and had broken both legs and his right arm, with only one single minute left.

“SHIIIIIIIIT!” the boy screamed, as he began to fall. “_Think! If I used One For All to get up here, maybe I can stop my fall too…but then I’d be down to no limbs at all! Shit, All Might warned me this would happen! I’m not yet strong enough to handle this power! Dammit, there’s no good ending here!_” he thought, continuing to fall.

A pair of eyes flashed red.

The boy in pink started running towards the falling hero. “KIRIYA! GIVE ME A BOOST!” he shouted to Leather Jacket. The other teen’s eyes widened, before he grinned, bent his knees and held his hands out in front of him. “GOT IT, EMU!” The now-named Emu ran up, took a small jump, landed briefly on Kujo’s outstretched hands, then shot like a rocket towards Emu with one jump. Emu swung around in mid-air and grabbed Izuku in a fireman’s carry. “Got you!” he cried, before realizing how far they still had to the ground. “_Oh, this is gonna hurt_” he thought before the two landed on a large pile of rubble, the dark-haired boy immediately seething in pain and dropping to the ground clutching his legs.

“Ow, dammit…yep, definitely tore both quads and blew out both knees…now I guess I know what day-to-day life must be like for Kevin Nash…” murmured Emu, before collapsing wholesale, staring at the sky with a massive grin on his face. Midoriya started crawling away from the rubble, pure desperation on his face. “Just…let…me…get…one…point-!” he said before Present Mic interjected. “TIME’S UP!” he called, as the green-haired boy passed out on the ground.

A crowd of students gathered around the downed greenette. While many commented on his bizarre glass-cannon Quirk and why he didn’t snag any points, Iida stood back in some measure of disbelief and shock. “They’re all missing the point” he muttered. “So you saw it too?” said Kujo, supporting Emu with his right shoulder. “He must have known the predicament he was in…how few points he had, how little time was left, and what his Quirk would do to him…yet he sacrificed his entire shot at entry to save that girl.” the tall boy said, fists clenched by his side. “Yep…he’s an impressive one, alright. UA will be making a serious mistake if they don’t admit him with a heroic spirit like that” Kujo noted with a sly grin. “The judges were watching…they must be watching for actions like this…” the tall one trailed off.

“Very nicely done! Good work all around, youngsters” said a short, lively old lady as she walked onto the scene. “Here, have some gummies” she offered to the tall one, who took them gratefully but with no small measure of confusion. “That _madamoizelle_, my friends, is the heart of UA: The Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl” a blonde boy with an ornate belt buckle spoke up. Recovery Girl stopped at Izuku’s prone form. “Oh my, sonny, you hurt yourself this badly with your own Quirk?” she asked, before noting mentally “_It’s almost like his body isn’t adapted to a Quirk at all…_” At this, she bent down, and much to the shock of the other examinees, gave Izuku a light kiss on the forehead. Instantly, the boy’s bones began to mend and the burns on his arm disappeared. “Wha-?” wondered Kiriya aloud. “That’s the school nurse for you; she just saved him months of recovery time. Her Quirk is the only reason UA can afford to hold reckless exams like this.” explained the blonde boy.

The old lady then made her way over to Kiriya. “Both quadriceps muscles torn and his knees pretty badly damaged” he explained, gesturing to Emu’s snoring form. “Anyone else?” Recovery Girl asked, after planting another kiss on Emu’s forehead like she did with Izuku. “I wonder…does the exam have other criteria? If so, maybe he did…?” wondered the tall one aloud.

* * *

**One week later:**

Midoriya stared forlornly at a fried fish. “Izuku? Izuku honey, are you alright?” asked his mother Inko, snapping him out of his trance. “Why are you smiling at your fried fish like that? Should I be concerned?” “Oh no, it’s nothing.” the boy reassured his mother. While the older Midoriya began washing dishes, Midoriya sat on the couch, improving his grip strength while staring forlornly into space. “_Based on my own estimates, I handily passed the written exam…but I completely failed the mock battle. Since the exam, I’ve been unable to get ahold of All Might._” “Izuku honey,” came his mother’s voice “I know waiting for the results can be just terrible, but know that no matter what happens, I still love you and am proud of you” Inko said, making her way to the door to check for mail while her son muttered some inaudible thanks to her.

“_I never told my mom about All Might or his secret_” Midoriya continued to himself. “_I want him to keep being the Symbol of Peace to everyone, the Number One Hero. Besides, he trusted me, so I’ll keep quiet._” The boy picked up a dumbbell and began exercising with it. “_All Might…I don’t know why, but you saw potential in me. But I failed you…and I’m so sorry…_” He trailed off, before his mother suddenly rushed into the room.

“Izuku! They came! It-It’s a letter from UA!” the boy looked dejectedly at his excited mother. A few moments later, inside the confines of his bedroom, the boy stared at the letter on his desk, before deciding to tear the letter in half, never reading the bad news contained within. A small metal disc fell out, and a light shined from it.

“_SURPRISE! I AM HERE, AS A PROJECTION!_” came the voice of All Might. “Wha-! All Might?! But this-this is from UA!” Midoriya stammered. “_IT MAY SURPRISE YOU, BUT I DIDN’T COME HERE TO MUSUTAFU JUST TO FIGHT VILLAINS. YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE NEWEST MEMBER OF UA’S FACULTY; THEIR NEW FOUNDATIONAL HEROICS TEACHER!_” All Might continued, before a hand reached on screen. “_YES? WHAT’S THE MATTER? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I’M SHOWBOATING? WAIT…I HAVE TO DO **HOW** MANY OF THESE? JEEZ, A HERO’S LIFE NEVER GETS ANY EASIER_” the giant said. “_Three cheers for lazy editing_” the boy thought as he watched. The voice in his head giggled girlishly.

“_YES, FINE, I’LL WRAP IT UP, BUT I HAVE A FEW THINGS I MUST SHOW THIS ONE FIRST. ANYWAY, DESPITE PASSING THE WRITTEN TEST, YOU GOT ZERO COMBAT POINTS ON THE PRACTICAL TEST. I’M SORRY, YOUNG MIDORIYA_” All Might said, shaking his head, but still smiling. “_Yes…I know that_” thought the boy in despair. “_It’s all I’ve been able to think of…just how much of a failure I am…_” “_GET OVER YOURSELF! You can’t dwell on stuff like that!_” the voice in his head snapped at him. Before he could start crying though, he was jolted up by the blonde symbol of justice. “_FORTUNATELY, WE TAKE OTHER FACTORS INTO CONSIDERATION BESIDES COMBAT SKILLS. BUT FIRST, A SHORT CLIP FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE!_” the giant boomed, turning a screen behind him on. “_I AM AN ENTERTAINER TOO, AFTER ALL!_”

The clip showed the round-faced girl, flanked by the tall boy with glasses and the boy with the pink shirt, who was supported by the leather jacket boy. “_Excuse us, Present Mic, sir, but do you have a moment?_” the tall boy asked stiffly. “It’s the nice girl from the exam…and she’s with the strict boy, Leather Jacket and the guy who caught my fall after I beat the Zero-Pointer…” Izuku muttered aloud. “_It’s about one of the other examinees. Really nice, freckles, kind of…plain?_” the girl said.

“_He has green hair._” Leather Jacket simplified. “_Anyway, they came to ask you-!_“ Leather Jacket continued, before being cut off by the tall one, Pink Shirt and the girl. “_Please give him some of our points!_” “Huh?!” Izuku choked out in surprise. “_He saved me without managing to get a single point!_” the girl said. “_His actions were truly heroic; I completely misjudged him during orientation!_” Glasses continued. “_He changed that girl’s fate with his own hands; I don’t regret blowing my legs up to catch him and I won’t regret giving him my points either._” Pink Shirt finished.

All Might looked at the screen before continuing “_YOU MAY NOW HAVE A QUIRK, BUT IT WAS YOUR ACTIONS THAT INSPIRED OTHERS, NOT YOUR POWERS. FORTUNATELY FOR YOU, THE PRACTICAL EXAM WAS NOT GRADED MERELY ON DESTROYING ROBOTS_” the hero boomed. “_Thanks for calling in with this big request, little listeners! But I’m pleased to inform you all that it won’t be necessary; the kid made it in on his own_” Present Mic informed them, a large smile on his face as the video paused.

“_HOW COULD A HERO COURSE REJECT SOMEONE WITH A HEROIC SPIRIT THAT DRIVES HIM TO EVEN DESTROY HIS OWN BODY TO SAVE OTHERS? THAT’S TRUE HEROISM…AND EXACTLY WHAT MY ALMA MATER BELIEVES IN. WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE RESCUE POINTS AS WELL AS VILLAIN POINTS! THE PANEL OF JUDGES WATCHING THE EXAM WILL GRANT EXAMINEES RESCUE POINTS AS WELL, FOR HEROIC ACTIONS BEYOND SIMPLY COMBAT PROWESS._” All Might said. “_No way…_” Midoriya thought, tears of joy running down his face. “_Yes way. You did it, kid!_” the voice cheered.

_“IZUKU MIDORIYA: 60 RESCUE POINTS! OCHACO URARAKA: 45 RESCUE POINTS! EMU HOJO: 36 RESCUE POINTS! KIRIYA KUJO: 20 RESCUE POINTS! AND TENYA IIDA, 10 RESCUE POINTS! YOU ALL PASSED THE EXAM!_” All Might boomed, a massive smile on his face, as Izuku began to tear up. “No way…” the boy smiled, tears of happiness streaming down his face. “_YOU HAVE MADE IT, IZUKU. WELCOME…TO YOUR HERO ACADEMIA._” The screen displayed a chart of the Top 10 examinee scores.

1\. Katsuki Bakugo: 83 villain points, 0 rescue points; 83 total points

2\. Emu Hojo: 42 villain points, 36 rescue points; 78 total points

3\. Ibara Shiozaki: 44 villain points, 31 rescue points; 75 total points

4\. Eijiro Kirishima: 39 villain points, 35 rescue points; 74 total points

5\. Ochako Uraraka: 28 villain points, 45 rescue points; 73 total points

6\. Kiriya Kujo: 48 villain points, 20 rescue points; 68 total points

7\. Tenya Iida: 52 villain points, 10 rescue points; 62 total points

8\. Izuku Midoriya: 0 villain points, 60 rescue points; 60 total points

9\. Itsuka Kendo: 43 combat points, 25 rescue points; 58 total points

10\. Sen Kaibara: 38 combat points, 18 rescue points; 56 total points

“Mom...All Might…I did it.”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**Izuku’s time at UA begins, as he meets his new classmates…and his sadistic homeroom teacher! How will the boy fare on his first day of high school? Stay tuned.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
Aaaaaand Chapter 1 is done! Almost 5k words after the rewrite, which is better than I’d expected. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2: Sudden Test! Quirk Assessment!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku’s time at UA begins, as he meets his new classmates…and his sadistic homeroom teacher! How will the boy fare on his first day of high school? Stay tuned.

**CHAPTER 2: SUDDEN TEST! QUIRK ASSESSMENT!**

* * *

_And just like that, I made it into UA. And not just the Business and General Studies courses, which were my backup plans, but the Heroics Course itself! I was one of only 44 freshman heroics students admitted to UA in 2312, but even knowing that I was literally a 1 in 300 admit didn’t help my self-esteem much, sadly. Oh well, it’s time for my first day!_

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia, opening 1 – The Day**

** _Shizukesa ga shimikomu you de iki wo tometa gozen goji_ **

** _Hijou kaidan de tsume wo kamu Asu wa docchi da?_ **

** _THE DAY HAS COME!_ ** ** **

_All Might is shrouded in golden light. Midoriya reaches out to him and the Symbol of Peace turns around to face the boy. The title is shown as an image of each member of 1-A is shown: Uraraka, Iida, Bakugo, Asui, Kirishima, Hojo, Kujo, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Jirou, Sero, Tokoyami, Aoyama, Ojiro, Ashido, Sato, Hagakure and Todoroki, in order._

** _Keshite akenai yoru mo furitsuzukete yamanai ame mo_ ** ** _  
Kono rokudemo nai sekai ni wa aru nda yo  
Sukoshi mo hen de wa nai no madoromi ni ashi o torareteru  
Anata o semete iru wake ja nai nda yo  
  
_ **

_Midoriya walks through the rain on an overpass. Hojo clicks the Mighty Action X Gashat, and the scene changes._

** _  
Hitori kūsō ni asobu  
Soko de omoiegaita koto made hajiru no kai?  
  
_ **

_Midoriya and Bakugo are shown as children, before the scene shifts into them as teenagers, as the turn around and clash with each other. Shigaraki appears and reaches towards the screen, before the screen shows Parado, his eyes flashing red._

** _  
Karamiau meikyū meikyū soredemo yuku to iu no?  
Chīsaki tabibito ga kanaderu hajimari no kane no ne_ ** ** **

_All Might and the Nomu engage in a brawl as Aizawa deals with several minor villains. Kurogiri and Graphite appear briefly. A few other UA teachers are shown: Nezu, Present Mic, Midnight, Recovery Girl, Taiga and Hiiro, before the scene shifts again._

** _Yuku ate mo DON'T KNOW DON'T KNOW_ **

** _Hontō wa kowain ja nai no?_ ** ** _  
Fumidasu sono ippo ippo ga kaete yukeru sa  
THE DAY HAS COME_ **

_Uraraka, Iida, Shoji, Todoroki, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Hojo, Kujo and Bakugo are shown running onscreen, before the scene cuts to Midoriya in his hero costume, throwing a punch identical to All Might’s. The opening concludes with a few shots of the students, then an image of the main cast posing in front of UA._

* * *

“_The night after I opened my acceptance letter, All Might finally got back in contact with me_” narrated Izuku, see running towards the beach he cleared during his training. The Symbol of Peace stood there in his true form, staring out over the ocean. “There you are, All Might!” the boy shouted without thinking. The hero spat up blood, as a couple over on a jetty called “All Might’s here?!” “Dammit kid, way to blow my cover! Quick, say it was a mistake!” the hero said in desperation. “Whoops, wrong person!” called Izuku, much to the distant couple’s disappointment. “_Way to go, kiddo_” the voice said.

“Anyway kid, let me congratulate you again on getting in” the hero said, giving a high-five to his successor. “I-I couldn’t have done it without your training” the boy exclaimed. “By the way, nobody at UA knows I trained you. You got in all on your own; all I did was watch proudly” All Might said, with a big smile. “Still, it was really cool to hear you were coming to teach at UA! I thought you’d have more business in Musutafu than just fighting villains; after all, everyone knows that your office is in Roppongi, Minato Ward, Tokyo-!” Midoriya said, before All Might cut him off. “Getting kinda creepy there, man…” “_Speaking of creepy, you should probably tell Toshi about me, kid_” the voice said to Midoriya, who flinched slightly. “_Hell no! I don’t want All Might thinking that his successor is crazy!_” the boy retorted. “_Suit yourself; you’ll have to mention me eventually though…_”

“The school didn’t want me telling anyone until they made a press release. It was honestly really good fortune that I ran into you here; it made finding a worthy successor for One For All a lot easier” the blonde man said. “_That’s right, he was coming to UA to find someone to inherit One For All among the students there…someone who was strong and already had a Quirk…_” Midoriya thought to himself. “Your power wrecked my body, and all I did was jump and throw a punch” the boy said forlornly. “You’re still learning how to control its’ power; expecting to figure everything out so soon is like asking a baby to run a marathon. Gotta learn to crawl before you learn to walk” the pro said, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“Wait…did you know that it was going to hurt like that?!” the boy asked, hitting a sudden realization. “Well…uhhhh…we were on a time crunch, but it all turned out okay, I guess” the pro said, scratching his head awkwardly. “Right now, your power is all or nothing” the blonde continued, picking up two discarded gas canisters. “Eventually, you’ll learn how to control it better, so that your body doesn’t overflow with power and cause too many problems for you OR THOSE AROUND YOU” the pro said, shifting into his muscle form and crushing the two cans with ease. “Wait, it really is All Might!” came a voice from the couple on the jetty. All Might sweatdropped. “AND NOW WE RUN” he said, turning and running away, Izuku following him closely.

The hero looked back at the boy behind him. “_THE TORCH I’VE PASSED TO THAT YOUNG MAN IS BUT A SMALL SPARK, BUT EVENTUALLY IT WILL BECOME A RAGING INFERNO OF POWER FOR HIM TO WIELD. THEN I’LL RETIRE, MY JOB COMPLETE. HMMMM…THAT WAS PRETTY DEEP, TOSHI._” The man thought, smile on his face. The duo continued to run away, the crisp salt air blowing around them in the last flickers of evening light.

* * *

Izuku ran down the cobblestone path in front of UA, making his way to Class 1-A. “_That year, UA’s acceptance rate was as low as usual – about 1 in 300 got in. 38 got in via the entrance exam, and six through recommendations from pro heroes. These heroes-in-training were split into two classes of 22 students, 1-A and 1-B._” he narrated, running down a hallway to find the door to Class 1-A. After being surprised by the size of the door, he thought to himself again. “_The most promising heroics students in all of Japan, and probably East Asia in general, are behind that door waiting for me._” He suppressed a shudder thinking of Bakugo and the tall boy, although he admitted that he wasn’t all that worried by the latter after he tried to vouch for Midoriya’s admission. “_Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll be in with Kujo, Hojo and Uraraka…_” he thought, opening the door.

“GET YOUR FEET OFF THAT DESK!”

“FUCK YOU!”

“_Ah shit, both of them are here_” the greenette thought dejectedly. While Bakugo and Iida traded barbs, Midoriya looked around the classroom at his future classmates, spotting Kujo and Hojo near the back of the class. “It’s him…” muttered Iida, as he and Bakugo stared at the doorway…which also drew the attention of every other student in 1-A to Midoriya. “Greetings, my name is Tenya Iida, of-!” the tall boy began, before Izuku awkwardly cut him off. “I know…uhhh, I’m Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you!” he said, shaking the boy’s hand. “Midoriya, I misjudged you. You knew there was more to the exam than just destroying robots. Clearly you are very perceptive, and a better student than I” Iida monologued, much to Midoriya’s disbelief. “_Man, he’s a weird one_” the voice said. “_For once, I fully agree with you_” the boy responded.

At this point, the boy heard a voice behind him. “Oh hey, it’s falling boy!” said Uraraka, smiling brightly at him. As the boy’s brain began racing at a thousand miles an hour while the girl talked, Bakugo scowled at the greenette, thinking of how he confronted the boy after school a few months prior. “_I don’t know how he got into Heroics instead of Business or General Studies, but I’ll begrudgingly admit that I was kinda impressed by the little bastard when he stood up to me for once. Maybe that wasn’t a fluke and he’ll finally give me reason not to see him as a bug in my path_” the explosive blonde thought, still annoyed that the perpetual green-haired pain in his ass was in the same class as him for another three years.

“If you’re just here to make friends, then pack your stuff and get out of here.”

The voice coming from the hall caught everyone off guard as they looked behind them to see a…caterpillar? No, it was just a professional hobo in a sleeping bag who unzipped himself and stood up, walking into the classroom, draining a juice packet while doing so. “It took eight seconds for you to shut up; by the end of the semester, I expect that number to be cut in half” he continued, stepping up to the whiteboard. “My name is Shota Aizawa, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher; now put these on and be outside within 15 minutes” he said in a voice devoid of energy or emotion, tossing a stack of unisex blue and red tracksuits on the desk, and turning to walk back out the door.

“_If you get the wrong homeroom teacher at UA, you’ll be utterly miserable. Trust me, I know.”_ All Might thought to himself, flipping through a directory in another room. He looked at 1-A’s entry, and his eyes widened. “_Crap, he has Aizawa!_” the blonde man thought, shifting into his muscle form and exiting the room.

* * *

Out on the sports field, the students were gathered together, expressing their surprise about a Quirk Assessment Test. “But, what about orientation?” asked Uraraka. “Orientation? Heh, who needs that nonsense? Anyway, since this is my class and UA allows me to run it how I see fit, I’m having you take a standardized physical exam like you’re all used to…except this time, you get to use your Quirks” the disheveled pro said, before continuing. “The government is still trying to pretend all men are created equal, instead of letting the strong excel and the weak fall behind. It’s irrational, and someday they’ll have to learn. Bakugo, you placed first in the entrance exam” the man addressed the explosive teen, before tossing him a softball.

“What was your best throw in junior high?” he asked. “77 meters” the teen responded, still as dumbfounded as the rest of his class. “Now, use your Quirk on it. Anything goes, just stay in that circle” the teacher continued, as Bakugo took his position, and lined up a throw. “Don’t hold back, Kacchan!” Izuku said, prompting the blonde to scowl for a moment before smirking. “Like I’d do that anyway, Deku!” he said, before releasing an explosive pitch that broke the sound barrier, roaring “DIE!” in the process. “Die?” asked Iida. “Is he some kind of thanatophile?” Kujo joked.

The ball landed 705.2 meters away, according to Aizawa’s tablet. “Now, these are the scores I want to be seeing in this exam” he said, prompting cheers from the class. “That looks like fun!” said a pink-skinned girl, causing the teacher to freeze. “Fun? You think this hero business is fun? Okay, new rule with this trial: whoever gets the bottom score gets expelled for having no potential whatsoever; no refunds or retries” the man said dangerously. “If you don’t like how I’m running my class…go home now.”

“But that’s not fair at all!” Uraraka said. “We all got in fair and square; and yet we’re being threatened with expulsion less than an hour into our first day?” Iida raised his hand robotically. “It seems very unprofessional for such a prestigious institution to allow their faculty to behave in this manner!” Aizawa smirked. “You think that natural disasters and villain attacks are ‘fair’ or ‘professional’? Grow up. The real world is cruel, tough and unforgiving. As it stands, NONE of you would survive five minutes if you faced what the average pro deals with on a day-to-day basis. Welcome to hell, kids. Hope you enjoy your stay” the man said, before turning away. “Now get started. We haven’t got all day.”

* * *

_Test 1: 50-meter dash_

“_Runners, on your mark!_” came a robotic voice from the measurement device at the end of the 50-meter dash course. Iida and a frog-like girl named Asui lined up at the starting line. “_Ready? Go!_” the voice said, and the two took off running. Iida finished first due to his Engine Quirk, while the frog-like girl hopped over the line just behind him. “_3.24 seconds! 5.58 seconds!_” The tall boy stopped. “_Looks like I can only get to third gear at 50 meters…_” he thought.

_Tenya Iida! His Quirk: Engine! As you can see, his legs pack a real punch!_

“Hmmmm, seems he’s in his element here. But speed won’t help him with everything” Aizawa remarked. Uraraka touched all her clothes and shoes with the pads on her fingertips, activating her Quirk on them. “This should lighten me up pretty good…”

_Ochako Uraraka! Her Quirk: Zero G! She can nullify the effects of gravity on anything she touches…but overuse makes her barf hard!_

The girl finished just behind a boy with a large tail. “_5.49 seconds! 7.15 seconds!_” “_Faster than junior high!_” the girl thought joyously. A blonde boy and a girl with pink skin took their positions, the boy standing with his back to the finish line. The boy jumped at the sound of the start, and a beam of energy shot out of his belt. Unfortunately, the beam quit a few moments later and he fell down halfway through the course.

_Yuga Aoyama! His Quirk: Navel Laser! That’s right, a bellybutton laser! But his stomach hurts if he fires for more than a second at a time._

A bunch of people gave Aoyama weird looks as Kujo and Hojo lined up at the starting line. “_Ready, Go!_” Kujo shot forward with a burst of speed, shooting across the line in 4.42 seconds, while Hojo made several big leaps and made it across in 5.03 seconds. “Nicely done, M!” Kujo said. The other boy just smiled.

_Kiriya Kujo! His Quirk: Racing Gear! He’s built sturdier and faster than the average human!_

_Emu Hojo! His Quirk: Mighty Jump! He can jump high and deliver a Mighty Kick! But too high, and his legs won’t be able to handle the landing!_

Midoriya and Bakugo were next up. As the robotic voice announced start, the explosive blonde rushed forward, before releasing a series of small explosions from his hands, propelling himself across the finish line in 5.13 seconds. Midoriya crossed a few seconds later, making it in 7.05 seconds. Both Bakugo and Aizawa glared at the panting greenette.

_Test 2: Grip Strength_

Midoriya did his best to channel One For All without destroying himself, but the best he managed was a few sparks and a score of 77 kilograms. Meanwhile, a tall, muscular student with large lips ingested a few grams of sugar and got a score of 300 kilograms, while a huge student with six arms managed to get 544 kilograms by wrapping three muscular hands around the device; holding the record until the tall girl with the ponytail created a vice grip and broke the device wholesale.

_Test 3: Standing Long Jump_

Aoyama shot his Navel Laser, propelling him past the measuring device. Bakugo used multiple explosions to do the same. Uraraka made herself weightless and floated by. Hojo cleared the whole thing with ease, well overshooting the end of the sandbox. Midoriya managed to summon a few sparks again, but still failed to make it to the end.

_Test 4: Side-to-Side Steps_

Midoriya managed one of the better scores on this test. However, the short boy with purple balls for hair created two round bundles of hair balls and bounced off of them almost faster than the eye could see, getting the overall high score.

_Test 5: Ball Throw_

Uraraka made the ball weightless and caused it to literally float out of the atmosphere. The boy with odd elbows created a length of tape and used it as a bolo to get the ball 312.2 meters away. The tall girl created a cannon and shot it a solid 840.4 meters. “If Midoriya doesn’t get in gear quickly, he’ll be going home” Iida said. “Of course he will! I’ve known the nerd my whole life; he’s Quirkless! He should have gone for Business instead of Heroics!” snapped Bakugo. “Pffft. Quirkless? Yeah right, Explosion-Brain. I saw what he did during the entrance exam; how he took out that Zero-Pointer” said Kujo, much to the blonde’s annoyance and surprise. “He _what_?!”

Finally, it was Midoriya’s turn. He got ready to try to summon as much of One For All as he could to get the best score he could…but as he threw the ball, he felt the incredible power leave him and the ball only got 46 meters.

“Wha-?” asked the greenette. “I erased your Quirk” came the teacher’s voice, as his hair floated ominously and his eyes glowed red. “The judges for the exam were not rational enough; someone with a self-destructive Quirk like yours should never have gotten in.” “Wait…I know you! You’re the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead! You can cancel other people’s Quirks by looking at them!” the boy came to a sudden realization.

“You have no control over your power; you aren’t ready for a hero course yet. Do you plan to destroy all your bones again? Will you let yourself be rendered useless in a way that would make you a liability in the real world?” the hero asked, sending chills down the spines of the other students with his tone. “I’ve returned your impractical Glass Cannon Quirk to you; take your final throw and accept your fate.”

***cue My Hero Academia OST - You Say Run***

The boy lined up. “_I can’t just give up!_” “Hey now, is this kid for real?!” asked All Might, spying from behind a building. Power built in his index finger, and as he released the ball, he channeled 100% of One For All behind the finger. “SMAAAASSH!” he yelled, releasing the ball, creating a massive shockwave from the force of the throw and shooting the ball into the sky. Everyone’s faces were painted over with shock. The boy’s finger was immediately broken, but the payoff was worth it as the ball landed 705.3 meters away. As he stood up, he flexed his burned, broken finger, eyes full of determination, and said “I can still continue!”, eliciting a grin from his teacher. “_This kid is something else!_” the voice in Midoriya’s head said. “_If he keeps it up, Toshi will have nothing on him!_”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

* * *

**The battle trial will test everyone! Bakugo is angry as ever! And why are Kujo and Hojo sneaking around? Stay tuned for more!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
The overhauling of this chapter took a lot less time than I expected. It’s still not a very long chapter at all, but it’ll do – I’m not really a fan of 10K word chapters, if you catch my drift.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Trial! Mock Battle Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Assessment Test concludes! Hojo and Kujo are acting weird. Also, combat training!

**CHAPTER 3: TRIAL! MOCK BATTLE FIGHT!**

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia opening 1 – The Day***

* * *

The reactions of Class 1-A to Midoriya’s softball throw could generally be summed up as shock and awe. As the greenette stared at Aizawa, determination burning in his eyes, one Katsuki Bakugo could only come to tone conclusion: “_HE LIED TO ME_”. Rage and indignation burned inside the blonde as the other students around him gawked at Deku’s new Quirk.

“DEKUUUUU YOU BASTARD!” the blonde roared, charging forward with small explosions popping in his palms. “WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET A QUIRK?! ANSWER ME OR YOU’RE DEAD!” Midoriya stared, a little fear and a lot of determination lighting up his eyes at the angry explosive blonde charging him, when the boy was halted by Aizawa’s scarf. “What the hell…why is your scarf so strong?” The teacher’s glowing red eyes bored a hole into the blonde’s soul. “Because it’s a capture weapon made of carbon fiber and a special alloy. Now stand down; using my Quirk so much gives me serious dry-eye.” The blonde stopped struggling and the pro retracted his scarf, leaving a less angry and very stunned Bakugo standing halfway between Midoriya and the rest of the class.

“Don’t do that again. Now whoever’s next should take their shot. Ge it over with” the disheveled man shrugged and turned away, capture weapon retracting to him. While Bakugo silently fumed, the rest of the class pondered what kind of power breaks the user’s finger. After that, Midoriya managed to outdo much of the class in the long-distance run and sit-ups, but floundered in seated toe-touches. As Aizawa pulled up the list, the greenette looked in dread.

First place had gone to Momo Yaoyorozu, the recommendation student whose incredibly versatile Quirk had allowed her to obtain exceptional scores on almost every test. The top 10 behind her was rounded out by the bichromatic boy with ice powers, Bakugo, Iida, a raven-headed boy, the multi-armed boy, Kujo, the tailed boy, spiky redhead and Uraraka. Midoriya himself was a little below the middle, having managed 16th out of 22, with only the sparkly boy, the tape guy, the electric kid, the punk girl, the invisible girl and the grape-headed boy (who was quietly sobbing to himself) below him.

“Oh, by the way, I was lying” the hobo nonchalantly said as he dismissed the hologram, almost all the students staring at him like he was from another planet. “That was all just a logical ruse to bring out your best” he continued, with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face. The class continued to stare blankly. “Wait, nobody else figured out he was lying? Sorry, I should have said something” Yaoyorozu admitted bashfully. “_Yeah, you should have_” the rest of the class thought, eyeing the brunette. “Alright, go get a syllabus and get out of here. We’re done for today” Aizawa said, stopping at Midoriya to give him a referral to Recovery Girl for his finger.

“Hold on, Aizawa-sensei, your own Quirk isn’t very useful for these tests. How would you have passed your own test?” asked Hojo. The underground hero looked back and then grinned with the mother of all troll faces. “I’d have erased all the other students’ Quirks and made them compete Quirkless” he said, before continuing on his way to the nearest utility closet to catch some shut-eye.

“_Well, that happened_” was the class’s collective thought.

As Midoriya exited UA later that day, exhaustion slowly gripping his body thanks to Recovery Girl’s Quirk, Iida caught up to him to make sure he was okay. Emu and Kiriya arrived a few moments later, followed closely by Uraraka, the round-faced girl stopping as soon as she reached them. “I’m Ochako Uraraka, and let’s see…you’re Tenya Iida, Kiriya Kujo, Emu Hojo and…Deku Midoriya, right?” she said, much to the greenette’s shock. “D-Deku?!”

“That’s what Bakugo called you during the fitness test, right?” “Actually, it’s, uhhhh, Izuku; Deku is what Bakugo calls me to insult me…” the boy trailed off awkwardly. “Huh, looks like Explosion-Brain is more of a jerk that I initially thought” said Kujo. “Really not a fan of people like that…” Hojo trailed off, while trying to beat the high score on his handheld gaming device.

“Now that I think about it…Deku sounds like _Dekiru_! It’s kinda cute” the brunette said. “Deku it is!” Izuku said…blushing madly? “Whaaaaaa-?” Iida, Kujo and Hojo wondered. “_Looks like SOMEBODY has a crush~_” the voice in Midoriya’s head teased. The group slowly made their way to the station, talking about their lives and getting to know each other better – they’d need to if they were going to spend the next three years as classmates, after all.

“…And this dork starts asking me what my favorite game is, and rattling off his high scores, and five-year old me is still wondering the entire time if this is really the prodigy player, the Genius Gamer M, that I’m meeting-!” Kujo said, when suddenly he and Hojo froze, their phones buzzing a special code. “Aaaaaaand we gotta go! Later!” the speedy boy said, before grabbing his friend, throwing him over his shoulder and dashing off back towards UA.

“What was that all about?” asked Iida. “Hold on, Hojo is M? _The_ Genius Gamer M? I’m a longtime fan of his! I subscribed to his HeroTube channel when I was seven, and I’ve seen all his reviews of the _Hero Fighter Pro_ series!” Midoriya said excitedly. “Genius Gamer M? That sounds familiar…” said Uraraka. “_What’s Genius Gamer M doing at UA as a heroics student though?_” the boy wondered, walking towards the station with his new friends. “_Beats me, but it sounds like there’s more here than we’re being told…_” the voice noted.

Just then, Midoriya spotted Bakugo far ahead of his group, scowling as he walked. “Hang on guys, I’ll be right back” he said, excusing himself as he ran towards the blonde. “Kacchan! Wait up!” he yelled, as the blonde turned, still scowling. “Deku…” he growled. The greenette in question caught up to his longtime acquaintance. “Well? What do you want, you damn liar!” Bakugo roared. “I wasn’t lying…” Midoriya began, before starting to recite the cover story Recovery Girl and All Might had crafted for him. “My Quirk didn’t manifest until the day of the entrance exam; during the exam itself, in fact; it turns out that I always had it…it didn’t manifest because, until recently, I wasn’t fit enough to even hope to handle the sheer backlash of it.” The blonde raised an eyebrow. “And even now, it’s still not enough; I’m finally able to draw its’ power out after all these years, but I still break myself every time I use it. Do you see what I mean?” he asked, holding up his bandaged finger.

Bakugo turned away. “Tch. Fine, you finally manifested your Quirk…but don’t think that means you’re better than me! Damn nerd!” he grumbled, walking home. “See you tomorrow, Kacchan!” “Whatever, Deku” the boy responded, but under his gruff exterior, he was smiling a little inside at the knowledge that his first friend might not be entirely useless. The sun set on Musutafu, and as new friendships were formed among Class 1-A, another had begun to slowly mend.

* * *

The next day, the students of Class 1-A found out something they had hoped wasn’t true: outside of their heroics classes, UA’s curriculum was…actually pretty normal. Their first class of the day was English with Present Mic, which was incredibly boring. Then Mathematics with Ectoplasm, which was rather difficult. Then History of Heroics with Midnight. Finally, after lunch, it was time for Foundational Heroics…the one class whose teacher was still a mystery.

“I AM HERE…COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!” came the world’s most recognizable voice, as All Might burst through the door of Class 1-A, wearing one of his older Silver Age costumes, setting the entire class into fanboying and fangirling. “TODAY’S LESSION WILL BE ONE OF THE MOST BASIC HEROICS EXPERIENCES: BATTLE TRAINING!” the iconic hero said, setting off more excitement in the crowd. “AND THERE’S NOTHING MORE HEROIC THAN LOOKING GOOD! YOUR HERO COSTUMES ARE OVER IN THOSE CUBICLES ON THE WALL; DESIGNED BY THE SUPPORT COURSE BASED ON YOUR REGISTRATION FORMS AND THE DESIGNS YOU SENT IN!” he continued, pointing at 22 numbered cubicles on the left-side of the class.

20 minutes later, at Training Ground Beta, the heroes in training walked out to meet the Number One hero, dressed in their new costumes. All Might couldn’t help but let a chill run down his back as he looked at the heroes of tomorrow. “THEY SAY CLOTHES MAKE THE HERO, AND FROM NOW ON YOU ARE CLEARLY HEROES IN TRAINING! NOW, LET’S GET STARTED, YOU BUNCH OF NEWBIES!”

* * *

Midoriya looked around at his classmates in their sophisticated costumes, all awesome in so many ways. His own costume was a teal-green tracksuit with reinforced shoulder, knee and elbow pieces, and thick red boots. His hood was folded down, but it appeared to resemble bunny ears, and his respirator looked as if it had a smile on its’ face. All Might saw this and immediately had to hold back a laugh; it was pretty clear who he was imitating. “_YOU’RE SO OBVIOUS!_”

“Deku, your costume looks amazing!” Uraraka said, walking over to the boy…who immediately started madly blushing about the girl’s skintight bodysuit in pink, black and white, an astronaut helmet with a pink-tinted acrylic visor completing the outfit. “I should have been a bit more specific…” she trailed off. “_Oooooooh, she really is cute~_” the voice teased. “_S-Shut up!_” the boy responded, now blushing even harder. “The hero course is awesome” the small grape-haired boy said, giving a thumbs-up while wearing…was that a diaper? Several other students gave him a dirty look for that comment.

Iida was wearing a full-body suit of armor that looked vaguely Gundam-esque. Yaoyorozu was wearing a red bodysuit that left…very little…to the imagination. Bakugo’s costume was black, green and orange with two huge grenade-themed gauntlets. Kujo wore a principally yellow jumpsuit with black highlights, thick knee and elbow pads, gauntlets and leg braces with wheels on them and a yellow helmet with a blue-tinted acrylic face shield and a copy of his crimson biker jacket worn over the jumpsuit.

Bakugo glared at Midoriya. “…Auntie Inko made that for you, didn’t she” he said, rolling his eyes a little. “Y-Yeah…” Midoriya responded, looking at his homebrew outfit. “Better hope it doesn’t get wrecked today” the blonde muttered.

Hojo’s costume was a bit more armored than Kujo’s, principally pink in color with white highlights and green linings. He wore a headband with two pink winglike structures adorning the sides and very thick, specialized boots in green and pink. The rest of the class was decked out in equally incredible costumes, and the whole ensemble looked professional and ready to do good in the world.

“Excuse me, All Might, sir” Iida said, raising his hand. “This is one of the training grounds from the entrance exam; will we be fighting fake villains in urban battle training again?” “NOT QUITE, YOUNG MAN” All Might said. “ALTHOUGH MOST VILLAIN FIGHTS SEEN ON THE NEWS ARE OUTDOORS, ALMOST 80% OF VILLAIN ENCOUNTERS TAKE PLACE INDOORS. BACKROOM DEALS, HOME INVASIONS, UNDERGROUND LAIRS, ET CETERA. THE WORST VILLAINS KNOW TO STAY IN THE SHADOWS.”

The giant paused a moment, then continued. “FOR THIS EXERCISE, YOU SHALL ALL BE SPLIT INTO TEAMS OF TWO, ALTHOUGH ONE TEAM WILL HAVE TO GO TWICE. ONE TEAM WILL BE VILLAINS PROTECTING A FAKE BOMB IN A BUILDING, AND THE OTHER WILL BE HEROES SEARCHING FOR THE BOMB. ANY QUESTIONS?”

“Sir, will you be deciding who wins?” asked Yaoyorozu. “UHHHHHHH…” “How much can we hurt the other team?” asked Bakugo. “WELL-!“ “Will we have to worry about getting expelled like yesterday?” asked Uraraka. “WELL, NO-!“ “Are we being paired up by chance or skill level?” asked Iida. “HOLD ON-!“ “Isn’t this cape _magnifique_?” asked Aoyama, sparkling. “OKAY OKAY, HOLD YOUR HORSES, KIDDOS. I’M SUPER-STRONG, NOT SUPER GOOD AT HEARING RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS!” All Might said, waving his hands wildly. “TO WIN, THE HEROES MUST RECOVER THE WEAPON OR CAPTURE THE VILLAINS WITHIN 15 MINUTES. IF TIME RUNS OUT OR THE VILLAINS CAPTURE THE HEROES, THEY WIN.”

“Sounds like a classic action movie…” muttered Ojiro. “Isn’t there a better way than drawing lots?” asked Iida. “Think about it. Many pros have to team up with each other by chance to suit the needs of the situation at hand. That might be why it’s like this” Midoriya said, holding one finger up. “Truly impressive reasoning, Midoriya. Life is a series of random events. Please forgive my rudeness!” Iida said, bowing while the others cringed slightly. “_Is he always like this?_” the voice asked. “_Yeah…he is_” Midoriya responded. The back of his brain tickled with what felt vaguely like a mental eye-roll.

“ANYWAY, LET’S DRAW LOTS!” said All Might, holding out the box. Team A was Uraraka and Midoriya. Team B was Asui and Hojo. Team C was Ashido and Bakugo. Team D was Yaoyorozu and Iida. Team E was Shoji and Mineta. Team F was Kujo and Kaminari. Team H was Jiro and Hagakure. Team I was Todoroki and Tokoyami. Team J was Aoyama and Kirishima. Team K was Ojiro and Sato. And finally, Team L was Sero and Koda. Then All Might drew from the hero and villain boxes. “TEAM A AS THE HEROES VS TEAM D AS THE VILLAINS!” he said, looking at Uraraka, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu and Iida. “THE REST OF YOU CAN WATCH FROM THE BATTLE CENTER!”

A few minutes later, the two teams and All Might arrived at the building the fake bomb was in. “YOUND IIDA, YOUNG YAOYOROZU…THE KEY TO BEING SUCCESSFUL VILLAINS IS TO EMBODY VILLAINY!” the pro stated, while the two took his advice to heart. “YOU HAVE FIVE MUNITES TO SET UP BEFORE THE HEROES WILL MOVE IN. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!”

“So…this is the bomb we must protect” Iida said, while knocking on the fake weapon. “Though it pains me to side with evil in any way, this is a training exercise…so I will do my best to embody villainy!” Yaoyorozu looked amused. “Method acting? I like it. Perhaps that is exactly the motivation we need to think like villains and win this exercise…” the brunette trailed off. “Your Quirk is better suited to patrolling the building and stopping the hero team, while I can create almost anything needed to defend the bomb” the girl continued. “I have a few other ideas while we’re here though…”

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the building, Uraraka and Midoriya looked over their map of the building’s interior. “Man, this is really hard to memorize...” Uraraka said, while Midoriya intently studied the map. “Based on the map of this building, they could only put it on the fifth or third floors; all the other rooms are too small for a bomb to be in” Midoriya noted. “So, how do you think they’ll come at us?” asked Uraraka. “Yaoyorozu’s Quirk allows her to create almost anything she can think of, so she’ll probably stay behind to defend the bomb. Meanwhile, Iida can track us down pretty easily with his Engine Quirk, which means he’ll be the main opponent we’ll face in the hallways. Of course, the opposite could be true mumble mumble mumble…” Midoriya trailed off, getting a small giggle from Uraraka.

The alarm klaxons sounded around the training ground, signaling that the five minutes were up and it was time to begin. Uraraka and Midoriya rushed in through the door and made it through the first floor without issue, but halfway down the first hallway on the second floor, Midoriya suddenly tensed up. “Something’s wrong. This has been way too easy” he said…right as Uraraka stepped on something. And then there was a bright burst of heat and light as the flashbang landmine (seriously, were those even a thing?) detonated, sending the round-faced girl flying and briefly blinding and deafening her partner.

Midoriya had just finished blinking the spots out of his eyes when a loud noise came from the corridor to his right, followed by the armored Iida dashing out and landing a powerful kick that Midoriya barely blocked, sending him flying into a nearby wall hard enough to damage the concrete. “AHAHAHAHA! Foolish heroes! You fell right into the trap of I, the evil Engine Master, and my partner Creati! Give up while you still can!” the armored boy gloated, earning a loud laugh from Uraraka and bewilderment from Midoriya. “_He’s really getting into his villain role_” the greenette thought, before getting back to his feet.

“Well, that was…different” said Kujo back in the battle center. “No kidding, Iida’s really embracing his villainous side” Sero said, chuckling. “What a showoff, kero” Asui deadpanned. All Might merely laughed.

“Uraraka, you head for the bomb! Watch for the traps along the way! I’ll deal with Iida!” Midoriya instructed. “Got it, Deku!” Uraraka said, before dashing down the hallway. “You think I’d let you escape like that knowing your plans? HAHAHAHA, YOU FOOL! I’ll stop you before you-!” Iida began, starting to chase Uraraka before his green-haired opponent grabbed his shoulder, vaulted over him while he was distracted…and wrapped both arms around the other teen’s midsection, before bodily lifting him up and slamming him backwards in a devastating back suplex, Iida being very fortunate that his armor took the brunt of the attack. “I’M YOUR OPPONENT!” the greenette roared, jumping back to his feet while Iida lay in shock on the ground.

Back in the battle center, the other students were picking their jaws up off the ground in astonishment at this feat of strength. “No way…Iida must weigh almost 150 kilos with that armor on and Midoriya lifted him like it was nothing!” Sato gawked. “Hold on man, remember when we were changing into our hero costumes? He was fucking ripped! So manly!” gushed Kirishima. Bakugo stood in stunned silence. “_Damn nerd is matching Glasses and hasn’t even used that damn new Quirk of his. What kind of training was he doing after school?_” All Might was bursting with pride. “_Yes, that’s it Young Midoriya! Show me the kind of hero your hellish training has molded you into!_”

“You are much tougher than I give you credit for, hero! Can I at least get your name so that I have some way to remember you after I win?” Iida said, smirking under his helmet. “Yeah…the name is Deku! Deku the Hero!” Midoriya said, clenching his fist. His mask had been burned off by Iida’s engines in the initial attack, but if it was still there, the fire in his eyes would have burned it away.

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The Battle Trial continues! Will Iida and Yaoyorozu prevail in their villainy, or will Midoriya and Uraraka make sure justice is served? Also, Bakugo meets his match, and Midoriya stumbles across Hojo and Kujo’s secret! Stay tuned, young heroes!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
Sorry for the wait! I had some stuff happening the last few weeks, but everything’s good now, even with the busyness of Thanksgiving approaching. Some things I wanted to talk about…  
\- Midoriya did much better in the Quirk Assessment here because, being realistic, his ten months of intensive training under friggin’ All Might would probably have put him in better physical condition than half the class. There’s almost no way he’d have realistically performed worse than Mineta, Hagakure AND Jiro, and he’s in better shape than Ashido, who placed ninth with a Quirk that wouldn’t have done much for her in most tests. Unless Aizawa rigged the whole thing, it doesn’t seem likely he’d do that poorly.  
\- As far as I’m concerned, Bakugo and Iida vs Midoriya and Uraraka has been done to death so SO many times, so I figured I’d change it and make things a little more interesting.  
REWRITE NOTES  
\- I’ve added some seemingly throwaway dialogue here that sets up quite a bit of future plot. Hope you enjoy the fruits of these edits!  
Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: Let's Game! I'm a Hero Student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle Trial concludes! Kujo and Bakugo come to blows! Also, it's Rider time!

**CHAPTER 4: LET’S GAME! I’M A HERO STUDENT**

* * *

“You are much tougher than I give you credit for, hero! May I at least get your name so that I have some way to remember you after I win?” Iida said, smirking under his helmet. “Yeah…the name is Deku! Deku the Hero!” Midoriya said, clenching his fist. Bakugo’s eyes widened hearing those words, before he began shaking and clenched his fist. “_Deku…_” he growled, unsure of his emotions.

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia opening 1 – The Day** *****

* * *

“Deku, eh? I’ll be sure to remember that. Now HAVE AT YOU!” shouted Iida, rushing the greenette again, trading blows with the boy who was still not using his Quirk. Concrete dust billowed as walls crumbled, bones creaked and metal armor crumpled during the duo’s battle.

Uraraka raced along the hallways of the second floor, using her Quirk to float above the mines planted on the floor in inconspicuous locations. Bouncing off a wall, she floated up the stairwell to the third floor, and tried the door to the large room on one side of the floor. When she pushed on the door and it refused to budge, she knew she had found her target. Another door refused to budge, but the last door to the room was wide open…meaning it was likely a trap.

The brunette removed gravity’s hold on her again and floated up to a ventilation grate, opening it and moving through the ductwork towards the bomb. Sure enough, Yaoyorozu was guarding the bomb and had what appeared to be a net gun trained on the doorway. The bomb itself was surrounded by a makeshift fence of iron girders, some of which had also been used to block the doors. The windows were all rigged with traps that appeared to contain…glue? The pots contained some beige-colored liquid and were attached to tripwires threaded across the windows. It looked like some serious planning had been done to make sure nobody could get to the bomb. There weren’t even small objects for the round-faced girl to weaponize anywhere in the room.

Uraraka reached a ventilation grate nearby the bomb and silently opened it, ready to drop and win the match for her team. Yaoyorozu was still looking towards the door; apparently Uraraka’s years of hide-and-seek experience alongside her friends back home would help her after all. She released her Quirk’s effects from her body and got ready to drop, the other girl seemingly none the wiser as she stared at some sort of device in her hand…and then it all went wrong.

The second Uraraka dropped from the ceiling, Yaoyorozu wheeled around and fired her net gun with a confidence that seemed to suggest that this was fully expected. “Waaaugh!” yelped the round-faced girl, barely dodging the net, but activating a tripwire and causing hidden paintball launchers to start firing on her. She ducked and weaved as Yaoyorozu smirked, conjuring another paintball gun and firing at her. “Give up, hero! I knew you were there thanks to my laser tripwires and silent alarm, and now that you’ve revealed yourself, you’re doomed! Anything you try, I can create a counter to! Such a failure was inevitable from the moment you decided to face Creati, the Most Versatile of Villains! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” the wealthy girl gloated uncharacteristically. Uraraka could no longer keep a straight face. “_She’s doing it too!_” the girl laughed.

_Momo Yaoyorozu. Her Quirk: Creation! She can create any nonliving item she knows the molecular composition and structure of from the fat cells in her body!_

Yaoyorozu dropped her paintball gun. “Are you…laughing at me?” the villainess sputtered in surprise. “How can I not laugh at you and Iida hamming it up like that” Uraraka giggled madly. The other girl exploded in mock outrage. “How dare you make fun of the dreaded Creati?! Have at you!” she shouted, creating a carbon-fiber staff and swinging it at the laughing girl, narrowly missing as Uraraka activated her Quirk. “Too slow, Creati! Infinity Girl clearly has the upper hand here!” she shouted.

Back in the battle center, everyone sweatdropped. “_Deku? Infinity Girl? Creati? Engine Master? They’re getting WAY too into this_” was the collective thought in the minds of the hero trainees – and All Might too, for that matter.

* * *

Meanwhile, Midoriya and Iida – excuse me, _Engine Master_, were engaged in an all-out war of wits and physical skill. Iida had a massive speed advantage, but Midoriya was quite probably stronger and was dodging most of his strikes, tanking any that he couldn’t without too much difficulty. Due to the boy’s decision not to risk damaging himself with his Quirk, he wasn’t harming Iida too much, even if his hits were hard enough to be felt through the tall boy’s armor. “You are truly impressive, hero! But how long can you keep up with me without using your Quirk?” the villainous boy gloated, unleashing a powerful kick and demolishing another wall. “_Hopefully none of these are load-bearing_” thought Midoriya, getting up and surveying the carnage before unleashing a brutal right hook to his opponent’s helmet, denting it slightly.

“Come on, hero! Do you want to win or not?” the tall boy asked in mock frustration, performing a high kick and narrowly missing Midoriya’s face. “OF COURSE I DO! But I can’t use this power without destroying myself!” his opponent responded, responding with a kick of his own, throwing him back. “Then your loss is assured! You’ll lose and thousands will die because our bomb will detonate unimpeded! Is that what you really want?” asked Iida, staring the greenette down.

“_He’s right…I can’t afford to fight like this forever and only use One For All when I’m given no other choices. But Iida can dodge most of my attacks and I can only attack so many times before I’m out._” Midoriya thought, staring at the silver-armored problem in question. “_Wait! Maybe, if I think like Iida, I can beat Iida…_” And suddenly, Izuku got an idea that might just work. Tapping his communicator, he contacted his partner. “Uraraka, stand over by the third column on the west side of the building. I should be able to give you a good opportunity against Yaoyorozu.” “_Oh? Looks like you’re finally putting that noggin of yours to good use, big boy_” the voice in his head snarked. “_Thanks, I guess._”

***cue My Hero Academia OST - You Say Run** *****

With that, Midoriya raised his hand and channeled One For All into his middle finger, holding it back, tensed and ready to fire. “Oho! You’re using your power after all? I won’t let you hit me!” Iida boasted, before rocketing forward. Midoriya kept his building attack trained on Iida, the boy dashing forward towards him, before spinning around ready to land a powerful kick.

At the last possible moment before Iida’s kick connected, Midoriya shouted “NOW!” into his communicator, and jumped backwards, falling back-first towards the ground. As Iida’s momentum carried him forward, the greenette smirked. “_You fell for it, Iida_” he thought, before releasing his attack. “DELAWAAARE…SMAAAAASH!” Midoriya roared, shooting the blast of wind towards the ceiling, blowing a massive hole through all the floors of the building, the pressure shattering all the windows. Iida was thrown back by the force of the attack, giving Midoriya the opportunity to fight through the pain of a broken finger and wrap the capture tape around the tall boy. “TENYA IIDA HAS BEEN CAPTURED!” announced All Might.

On the top floor, Uraraka had been cornered on the west side of the building, looking backwards at a three-story drop and forwards towards an armed-to-the-teeth Yaoyorozu. When Midoriya’s instructions came through, she let the ghost of a smile cross her face, before continuing to act helpless. “Give up yet, hero?” asked Yaoyorozu as she advanced on the round-faced girl. “No…not yet!” Uraraka shouted.

Just then, the floor exploded a few feet in front of her…giving her all the opportunity she needed. Grabbing a dislodged iron girder and rendering it weightless, she swung the makeshift weapon. “Improvised Move: Zero G Homerun Smash!” she shouted, directing a storm of loose concrete at the other girl, who created a riot shield and crouched behind it, shouting “In the name of villainy, I demand you cease!” Uraraka floated across the gap while Yaoyorozu was hunkered down, before releasing her own cancellation of gravity. “I’ve got the weapon!” she shouted. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Yaoyorozu dramatically shouted at the sky, as All Might called the match. “THE WEAPON HAS BEEN SECURED. HERO TEAM WINS!”

“I…lost” said Yaoyorozu, staring intently at the ground in front of her. Uraraka came up and patted her on the back. “You did great. If it wasn’t for Deku’s improvised plan…you’d have easily won.” The ponytailed brunette looked up at the other girl, who was giving her a smile as bright as the sun itself. “Come on, let’s head back. Want to join Iida-kun, Deku, Kujo-san and Hojo-san in walking down to the station later?” asked Uraraka. “That would be…really nice” Yaoyorozu smiled back. “Great! Come on, Yaomomo, we’ve got another fight to watch!” “Yao…momo?” the rich girl asked curiously. “We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends give each other nicknames!” the round-faced girl gushed. “I…have friends?” Yaoyorozu looked like she was about to cry tears of joy as her new friend escorted her back to the battle center.

A floor down, Iida helped Midoriya to his feet. “You should probably go visit Recovery Girl for that” he said, looking at Midoriya’s broken finger. “I’ll be back soon. It shouldn’t take too long to fix” the other boy responded, before following a hallway towards Recovery Girl. All Might stopped along the way to give him a hall pass. “Well done, Young Midoriya” he said, ruffling the boy’s hair. Uraraka was named the match’s MVP for successfully navigating past all the traps and holding Yaoyorozu off long enough for Midoriya to give her an opening to get the win.

* * *

The next match, decided at random, was Team I as the heroes vs Team K as the villains. It wasn’t a very long fight; Todoroki froze the building, leaving Ojiro stuck. Sato broke free long enough to track down the hero team, but was swiftly incapacitated by Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. The hero team won in 1 minute and 32 seconds, and Todoroki was named MVP. As the bichromatic boy defrosted the building to give Ojiro the option of escape, he bowed his head almost apologetically. “I’m sorry…we’re just not on the same playing field after all…” he muttered, walking away.

_Shoto Todoroki. His Quirk: Half-Cold Half-Hot. He can produce immense amounts of ice or fire, although the capabilities of the latter have not been seen. His limits are unknown._

"What a mad banquet of darkness" the raven-headed boy muttered.

_Fumikage Tokoyami. His Quirk: Dark Shadow! Inside his body lives a powerful spirit; a physical manifestation of his very soul!_

In the battle center, the entire audience watched in stunned silence as Todoroki froze the building. “Holy crap” Kaminari finally broke the silence. “Just how strong is he? Does he even have any limits?” Yaoyorozu wondered. “_Damn Icyhot…how much stronger do I have to get to be at the top again?_” Bakugo raged at himself.

Then it was Team B as the heroes vs Team E as the villains. This one took significantly longer, as nobody involved had Todoroki’s raw power. Ultimately, the villain team put up a good fight and briefly snagged Hojo on a sticky trap made by Mineta, but ultimately the heroes got to the bomb and Asui outmaneuvered Shoji and Mineta to capture the bomb. Hojo got MVP for creatively escaping his trap and providing enough of a distraction for Asui to get the win for their team; Midoriya returned around this time.

Team J as the heroes vs Team L as the villains was an interesting match, to say the least. Sero managed to create a multi-layered floor-to-ceiling tape defense, which helped win him MVP, while Koda used rats to learn where the enemy was coming from. Kirishima was instrumental in breaching the door to the bomb room, and the hero team would have won…but then Aoyama fired a laser blast through the curtains of tape, and destroyed the bomb. The entire room sat in stunned silence before All Might declared the villain team the winners. “_Well…that happened_” Midoriya thought. “_Seriously?! Nobody back in my day was that stupid about using their power!_” the voice ranted in the back of his mind. “_Back in your day?_” he asked. “_Oh! Uhhhhh, forget I said anything!_”

Then another match, this time Team B (going for a second time) as villains vs Team H as heroes. Hagakure and Jiro made a very effective combination, with the punk girl able to tell the invisible one exactly where their opponents were. Hagakure managed to capture Hojo, but Asui showed that she was more than skilled enough to win the match for the villains by capturing both Hagakure and Jiro a little more than halfway to the end of the match.

* * *

Finally, it was time for Team C as the villains vs Team F as the heroes. Bakugo and Ashido went in five minutes early, all of which Ashido spent melting traps in the different floors while Bakugo seethed in anger about his day, much to the pink girl’s chagrin. Outside, Kujo and Kaminari readied for their incursion. “So…you go to find the bomb and Pink Lady; I’ll keep Explosion-Brain busy” Kujo said, before patting Kaminari on the shoulder. “We’re gonna win this, my dude!” Kaminari looked scared. “But…Bakugo is really strong! He’ll slaughter you!” he said, clearly worried. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine…” Kujo said, his face darkening. “I’ve dealt with his type before.”

As the sirens sounded again, the team of two made their way in. Bakugo rushed out of the room on the top floor where the bomb was hidden, leaving an irritated Ashido to guard the bomb. Kaminari and Kujo advanced in silence until they reached the third floor…at which point Bakugo rushed around a corner, shouted “DIE!” and shot an explosion at the duo, who both rolled out of the way.

“Jesus man, you trying to kill us?!” yelled Kaminari. The blonde smirked. “And what if I am?” he said, stalking towards the duo. “I have a bit of steam I need to let off. Icyhot, Rich Bitch, Round Face, and ESPECIALLY Deku have all pissed me off today, and I’m going to take it out on you two losers. Don’t worry, I won’t beat you up badly enough to stop the match…I’ll just get close to it!” he roared, lighting another blast off, accelerating towards Kaminari…only to receive a massive roundhouse to the stomach from Kujo. “Get out of here!” the casual boy yelled, sending the electric blonde running towards the bomb.

“You…I’m going to beat you up good for that, you shitty extra” Bakugo said, glowering at Kujo. “Oh, I think I’m going to enjoy this just as much as you” the other boy responded, stretching his legs. “You see, I can tell when someone has been bullied – I spent enough time around Emu as a kid to know that – and I know how to tell when someone has been a bully to someone. Spent enough time defending him from bullies way back when, yo” Kujo said. “What about it?” Bakugo demanded. “_He’s gotta be bluffing. There’s no way this shitty extra can contend with ME._”

“You and Midoriya have a history, don’t you?” Kujo continued, cracking his knuckles. “Yeah, shitty Deku’s always been a pain in my ass! Why do you care?” the blonde spat back. “Midoriya may be desensitized to your bullshit by now, Explosion-Brain…but I’m not. And since he’s my friend and I care about him, I intend to beat an apology out of you” the brunette boy concluded, a dark look crossing his face. “Like hell you are!” roared Bakugo, lunging. From the other end of the hallway, Kujo took off running towards his explosive foe.

***cue Kamen Rider W OST – Leave All Behind** *****

The two met halfway down the hall. Bakugo let loose with a powerful blast, knocking the other boy back a few feet, but Kujo came back and hit a massive right into Bakugo’s hastily-erected guard, pushing him back and cracking one of his bracers. Not giving the temperamental boy time to recover, Kujo shot a left jab, then a quick side kick, forcing his opponent on the defensive. Bakugo used his Blast Rush Turbo to retreat to the other end of the hallway, then raise one of his hands and fire a fairly large blast, engulfing the hallway in a momentary flash of fire, briefly stunning Kujo and putting him on the defensive. “RRRRAGH! DIE!”

Back in the battle center, the other students watched this intense battle in awe. Bakugo had already proven himself to be a powerful and skilled individual, and Kujo wasn’t exactly someone you’d think was strong enough to contend with him. Midoriya in particular was surprised. “_I’ve never seen anybody keep Kacchan on the ropes like this before_.” The boy in question dashed down the hall again and delivered a brutal side kick to the blonde’s stomach, throwing him further down the hall.

“AARGH!” Bakugo roared, sending explosion after explosion down the hall. “WHY! WON’T! YOU! JUST! DIE?!” Kujo rushed forward. “I don’t intend to lose…not to an arrogant prick like you!” he shouted, bringing a speed-enhanced fist up with enough force to knock the explosive blonde through a wall. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!” Bakugo shouted, raising a gauntlet. “I’VE ONLY BEEN HERE ONE FUCKING DAY AND I’M ALREADY DONE WITH SHITTY EXTRAS LIKE YOU THINKING YOU’RE ON MY LEVEL! I’M GOING TO BE NUMBER ONE, AND I’LL DESTROY ANYONE WHO GETS IN MY WAY IS GONNA DIE!” he ranted, notching a finger through the gauntlet’s pin. His foe raised an eyebrow at that action and his tirade.

“My Quirk works by igniting explosive sweat that I secrete from special sweat glands in my hands. If the support company designed these like I wanted, then they’ve been storing excess sweat since I put them on over an hour ago.” Kiriya’s raised eyebrow was replaced by anger towards Bakugo for getting ready to use such a weapon on another student, determination to beat the blonde’s ass even harder for it, and relief that he, and not anyone in the class, was going to face this attack. “YOUNG BAKUGO, DON’T DO IT” warned All Might. “He’ll be fine if he dodges!” responded the blonde, before pulling the pin. “_No! Kujo, get out of there! He’ll kill you!_” Midoriya shouted in his mind.

The resulting blast burnt a huge hole in the side of the building. Three floors up, Kaminari and Ashido were both rocked by the force of the attack. “I got him…” Bakugo said, smirking in victory. Then suddenly, from out of the cloud of smoke and dust created by the blast, Kujo jumped out from above Bakugo’s range of vision, coming down with a clearly forceful side kick. “BAKUSOU…KICK!” Bakugo had just enough time to bring his grenade bracers up to guard, but the force of the kick shattered the one on his left arm. “That was expensive, you asshole!” Bakugo roared. “I’m not sorry!” came the response.

The yellow-clad boy followed up with a massive knee to the blonde’s gut, then a left jab, setting Bakugo on the defensive again. On the top floor, Kaminari decided to end he and Ashido’s stalemate. “INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK….1.3 MILLION VOLTS!” he shouted, electrifying the room. The pink girl’s acid barely protected her from the worst of the attack, but by the time she could counterattack, the electric blonde had secured the bomb, flashing a dorky brain-fried thumbs up.

“THE BOMB IS SECURED. HERO TEAM…WIIIIIINS!” All Might declared. Bakugo’s eyes widened in horror at his loss, while Kujo turned and walked off. “You didn’t lose because you didn’t have power…you lost because your convictions and heart were weak” the speedster said as he rounded a corner, leaving the explosive blonde in stunned silence. All Might eventually had to come snap him out of it, as the blonde’s mind began to send him spiraling into a loss-induced panic attack. “YOUNG BAKUGO, YOU DID VERY WELL. NOW LET’S GO HOME.”

“_I can’t believe it_” Midoriya thought, stunned at the outcome. “_Kacchan…lost?_” The voice in his head giggled. “_Not everyone can keep winning forever, you know. Every hero loses at least once_” the voice said, almost…sadly? “_Still…it doesn’t feel right. I know he’ll motivate himself more like this, but he’ll be beating himself up for losing_” Midoriya thought in concern. “_Then he needs to grow up, and understand that the real world won’t be kind enough to roll over and kowtow to him. He’s not strong enough to win every single battle; he needs to realize that he can’t do everything himself_” the voice admonished, before Midoriya felt her (?) presence disappear.

* * *

“AAAAAAAND THAT’S ALL, KIDS! VERY WELL DONE TODAY! WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY MAJOR INJURIES AND YOU ALL DEMONSTRATED A COMPETENCY BEYOND YOUR YEARS!” All Might said to the students gathered at the exit of Training Ground Beta. Asui raised her hand. “It’s really nice to hear some words of encouragement after yesterday’s homeroom class. Aizawa-sensei was a bit discouraging” the frog girl said, the rest of the class nodding in agreement. “I’M ALWAYS HAPPY TO BRING SUCH POSITIVITY TO MY OLD SCHOOL. NOW, I’M OUTTA HERE. WATCH HOW A PRO EXITS: LIKE HE’S GOT SOMEWHERE TO BE!”

With that, All Might turned and zoomed off towards the main campus at ridiculous speeds, trailing steam behind him; his time limit for the day almost up. “Okay…that was cool!” Kaminari said. “Man, I know I’ll never run that fast…” Ojiro lamented. Bakugo just scowled.

The blonde pro ducked inside a “faculty only” service entrance and powered down just in time. “God dammit, I’m pathetic. I can’t even teach a class nowadays” he scowled, angry and frustrated with himself.

* * *

That evening, having been introduced to the other students of his class, Midoriya walked back home in peace. Uraraka needed to buy groceries, Kiriya and Emu had vanished again, Iida was on a mission to get to the station, and Yaoyorozu (who had joined them for the walk to the station) had been picked up halfway down the hill by her limo driver. As the green-haired boy walked along, he thought about just how eventful a day he’d had as the sun set behind him.

Suddenly, sounds of battle rang through the air. “_Wait, a villain fight? This is perfect! I’ll have new notes to add to my Hero Notebook number 15!_” he thought, dashing down a side street and into a park. Hiding in some bushes, he looked out…and saw something he didn’t at all expect.

***cue “Excite” - Daichi Miura – Kamen Rider Ex-Aid OST** *****

Two very…unique armored figures were battling some kind of…motorcycle man? One of the fighters had black and white armor with pink ‘hair’ styled on top. The other had similar armor, but with yellow highlights and pink spikes on its’ head. Their opponent was a blue and gold figure with exhaust pipes sticking out of its’ shoulders and a very square head.

The two were keeping the other one on the ropes without much difficulty, but after a few moments, the pink one grabbed the lever on his ornate belt. “**Dai-Henshin!**” the figure said in an oddly familiar voice. “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**” the belt announced. “**MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION – X!**” And with that, the pink one’s armor came off and out popped a much slimmer version with predominately pink armor and undersuit, black and green highlights and a chest piece like a video game health bar. The head had pink hair styled into wavy points. Midoriya could swear he’d seen that design somewhere.

“**I’ll clear this with no continues!**” the pink one said, before turning to his partner. “**Hey Kiriya, why don’t you go Level 2?**” If the yellow one could roll his eyes, he would. “**Emu, in case you forgot, I literally turn into a bike at Level 2. Not to mention, I’m too worn out from fighting Explosion-Brain earlier to do the world’s most awkward yoga for that transformation.**”

“_Kujo? Hojo? THAT’s who these guys are? Is that why they keep vanishing?_” Midoriya wondered, eyes wide. “**Whatever. Let’s do this! Time to test out my support gear!**” Hojo said, tapping a button on his chest. “**GASHACON BREAKER!**” the belt announced, summoning a pink and green hammer with two buttons on it. The two wove in and out, attacking the gold figure with precise strikes. “**Ready to call it a day, Emu?**” asked Kujo. “**Yeah. Let’s finish it!**” came the response. The two fighters each lifted a small cartridge out of their belts. Hojo ‘blew’ on his, before they each stuck them into slots on the side of their belts.

“**KIMEWAZA!**” their belts announced in unison. “**MIGHTY BAKUSOU CRITICAL STRIKE!**” Hojo jumped into the air, his foot glowing with prismatic energy, while the wheel on Kujo’s right arm began spinning and glowing yellow. The two attacks landed at the same time, with their opponent sailing backwards into a tree from the force of the attacks, before being engulfed in a fiery explosion, yelling “I lost this race after all!”. A cartoonish icon appeared over the fading flames from the explosion, with both belts announcing “**GAME CLEAR!**”

The two closed up their belts and pulled the cartridges out of their slots, and in a burst of pixels both suits vanished, revealing Kujo and Hojo in their UA uniforms. “A job well done, eh, Emu?” the shorter of the two boys said, patting his partner on the back. “I’d say so. Let’s get back to CR so that we can discharge our patient” Hojo responded, before pulling out his phone and dialing a number. “Director? Yeah, it’s us. We’ve just finished up here. I’ll send you our location and you can bring us back to CR.”

The two walked over to a parked car on the nearby street, unaware of Midoriya’s presence. Suddenly, one of the windows seemed to ripple, then showed the inside of a hospital. The two stepped through one at a time. “_This is my chance! I can’t let them get away without me finding out what’s going on!_” Midoriya thought, as he dashed out of the bushed and rushed through the mirror portal. A few moments afterwards, the window rippled again and went back to reflecting the sunset.

Midoriya sat up, realizing he wasn’t on that street anymore. Instead he was inside some sort of room full of computer monitors, with all the walls painted white. A gaming booth for the popular rhythm game DoReMiFa Beat sat in one corner, looking very out of place. Behind him was a window looking out over a room with a large hospital bed in the center, connected to sophisticated equipment, with a stairwell connecting the two rooms.

But most importantly were the room’s other occupants, all of whom were staring at him in surprise. Kujo and Hojo were over by one of the monitors with a middle-aged man in a hospital uniform. Meanwhile, a girl with orange hair in a ponytail in a UA uniform stood over by a dark-haired nurse near the game booth. He was clearly an unexpected guest here.

“Kujo? Hojo? Where am I?”

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

* * *

**Midoriya has stumbled upon an operation most secret? How will the dynamic duo react? Also, 1-A is going on a field trip for rescue training! You have three guesses as to what happens, and the first two don’t count. See you next time!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
I told you that the Rider plot was about to be introduced, and here we are! In the next chapter, I’ll explain more in regards to how CR works in this fic and how it’s tied to UA.
> 
> As of the rewrite, this chapter is one of two that has exceeded the 4,900 word mark. We’re on our way to 50 for the story!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Bugsters, Riders and Villains, Oh My!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya discovers the secret of CR and the Rider System! Class election angst happens! And our hero trainees are going on a field trip, which totally won't go horribly wrong.

**CHAPTER 5: RIDERS, BUGSTERS AND VILLAINS, OH MY!**

* * *

“Kujo? Hojo? Where am I?” asked Midoriya, staring at the strange white room he had ended up in. The middle-aged man started to speak up, saying “I’m afraid we’ll have to ask you to leave and not talk about this place-!”, before Kujo cut him off. “Whatever, Director, all the patients we’ve treated for the Bugster Virus here know about it. If they’re not gonna spill, neither will Midoriya.” “Bugster Virus? Secrets? What is this place?” asked Midoriya in a growing panic. “Kid…welcome to CR.”

* * *

***Cue My Hero Academia opening 1 – The Day** *****

* * *

“CR?” the green-haired boy asked. “CR, or the Cyber Rescue Center, is where we treat people who are unfortunate enough to have been infected by the Bugster Virus” Hojo continued, much to the Director’s chagrin. “Miss Kendo here was one of those unfortunate victims of the virus, having been infected by the Bakusou Bike strain” the rather young-looking nurse said. The orange-haired girl waved cheerfully.

“Wait, wait, wait, I don’t get it. Bugsters? Cyber Rescue? What’s going on?!” asked Midoriya, suffering from an information overload. “Looks like we have to start from the beginning” Kujo said. “Asuna, if you would?” he said, looking towards the nurse, who stepped forward and began to speak.

“Three years ago as of February, a mysterious virus that seemed to be technological in origin infected a small number of people, only about a dozen, but six of them perished as a result of their infection” the nurse said. “The Bugster Virus works by infecting an individual and manifesting as a character from one of a dozen or so video games produced by Genm Corp, whose servers were the breeding ground for the virus after it mutated to infect humans.” By this point, Midoriya’s eyes were wide with shock knowing that an incredibly deadly computer virus had somehow mutated to infect humans.

“During this event, known as Zero Day, there was one individual working for CR who became the first doctor to be able to treat the virus: Taiga Hanaya, better known as the pro hero Snipe. He became Kamen Rider Snipe, and successfully treated all but one of the cases we got that day. That one case was what lost him his medical license and made him return full-time to hero work.”

“CR was established in a cooperative effort between Genm Corp; Seito General Hospital, which is built above this room; and UA High. Two medical-licensed UA faculty members and two hUA students trained in heroics medicine are employed as Kamen Riders to fight the Bugster Virus now that it has begun to spread again on UA’s campus” the nurse finished. “Hojo and Kujo are Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Kamen Rider Lazer, respectively.”

“Kamen…Rider?” Midoriya asked, the name jogging his memory for some reason. “That sounds familiar…” Hojo nodded. “It should. Two of the very earliest heroes in Japan were Takeshi Hongo and Hayato Ichimonji, who were better known as Kamen Riders Ichigo and Nigo, respectively. They combined their Quirks with cybernetic enhancements – some of the earliest support equipment – and defended Japan from one of the earliest villain groups, a coalition of former Nazi German superhuman mutants known as SHOCKER” the other boy informed Midoriya.

“Later on, another Rider emerged and went up against an anti-Quirk conspiracy known as SEELE. His Quirk allowed him to use the power of the sun itself against SEELE’s agents of darkness; he was Kotaro Minami, also known as Black RX. The ‘Kamen Rider’ part of his name was removed by the government to keep any connection between him and the original Riders from coming to light, but Hongo and Ichimonji both acknowledged him as the third Kamen Rider. Apparently they wanted him to call himself V3” Kujo said, chuckling at the last part. The older man subbed in to continue the story.

“Three other Riders, although their names were also disconnected from that label by the government, later appeared to stop a villain calling himself ‘Doctor Dracula, the Overlord of Darkness’. He had a powerful vampirism Quirk, which allowed him to control an army of enhanced slaves. He very nearly took over all of Hokkaido, but the heroes Shouichi Tsugami, Wataru Kurenai and Haruto Soma, aliases Agito, Kiva and Wizard, rose up to stop him. They succeeded, and all went international: Kiva to Eastern Europe, Wizard to America and Agito to Australia” the man said. “Wait…wasn’t Wizard briefly in the Top 10 in Japan?” Midoriya asked.

“Yeah, he was the Number Eight Hero just before he went to America. His whole message of ‘turning despair into hope’ was pretty popular with a lot of people, especially those who were suffering from mental illnesses. The Two-in-One Detective Double, who is a UA alum, is also a Rider, albeit a very regionally limited one. They keep to themselves in Fuuto, over by Sapporo” Kujo said. “_That’s right! Shotaro Hidari’s Quirk, Duo Strength, allowed him to increase the kinetic energy of his attacks, while Phillip Sonozaki’s Quirk Gaia One allowed him access to any knowledge he had ever absorbed. Their Quirks combined via some weird tech into a single Quirk, Two-in-One, which allowed them to become Double!_” Midoriya remembered.

“The Rider System itself was developed by Genm Corp to fight the Bugster Virus. Like Rider suits and systems of the past, it boosts the power of the user’s Quirk to the point where a Rider is physically on par with or above the majority of pro heroes. Emu and Kiriya’s Quirks, Mighty Jump and Racing Gear, were ideal for the Ex-Aid and Lazer suits, respectively” the nurse said.

Midoriya finished taking in the information. “So this Bugster Virus…to think that something like that could exist; if word of it got out it would be a bigger mess than when Destro’s autobiography was published a decade ago.” The greenette turned to look at the three unfamiliar occupants of the room. The orange-haired one decided to introduce herself. “Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I’ve heard a few things about you over lunch already. I’m Itsuka Kendo of Class 1-B.” “N-Nice to meet you, K-K-Kendo-san” Midoriya stuttered. “_Oh my god, I’m talking to a girl…AGAIN!_”

Kujo walked over to the middle-aged man, who was pouting about their secrets being given away. “This old fart is Seito General Hospital’s Director, Haima Kagami” he said, patting the older man on the back. “I-I’m not that old!” the man sputtered. “He’s also the dad of another of the CR doctors; you’ll meet him later.”

_Haima Kagami. His Quirk: Mirror Portal! He can make a bridge between any two reflective surfaces, as long as he’s at one end and knows the location of the other!_

“And this lady here is CR’s resident spot of sunshine, Poppy Pipopapo” Kujo continued, pointing at the nurse. “Her mild-mannered alter ego is UA General Studies Class 1-C student Asuna Karino.” The girl smiled and waved, before starting to spin in circles. “Costume Chaaaaaange!” And with a bright light, she transformed from a brunette in a nurse’s outfit to a pinkette wearing a strange dress of green, yellow, pink and white cloth. “Hiiiiii! Poppy Pipopapo, at your service!”

Midoriya finally broke out of his shock and astonishment at the whole situation. “So, how can I help?” “What?” asked several of the others. The boys stood up as tall as he could and looked at his classmates, the pinkette and the middle-aged director. “The essence of being a hero means meddling in places you shouldn’t” he said, before continuing. “One way or another, I will help you fight this threat to the students and teachers of UA High!” Kujo grinned. “Now that’s the spirit, Mido! Let’s get you home; we’ll talk more tomorrow.”

With that, the Director activated his Quirk and created a mirror portal to Midoriya’s apartment complex. The boy stepped through and was outside his home in a matter of moments. “_What an incredible Quirk…and what a bizarre virus_” he thought, walking up the stairs towards his apartment. “_I wonder what tomorrow will be like…_”

* * *

Reporters. SO. MANY. REPORTERS.

This was the sight that greeted the students of UA the next morning, as the media crowded the front gate of the school hoping for a juicy scoop from or about the Symbol of Peace. Midoriya managed to escape the crowd without difficulty. Bakugo warned them to “Get the hell away from me”, ESPECIALLY after one mentioned the Sludge Villain incident. Iida bored them half to death with a 20-minute long monologue about being a UA student. Finally, Aizawa told the reporters to get lost, and that the Number One Hero wasn’t at UA that day.

“I’ll get the scoop myself!” one intrepid reporter said, marching up to the gate…when the security measures activated and a massive multi-layered barrier wall sprung up and blocked off any entry into the school. While the reporters lamented how unfruitful their two-day stakeout for a scoop had been, a lanky blue-haired figure stared at the gate…

Class 1-A’s homeroom class began with Aizawa offering words of encouragement and criticism to the students in regards to the Battle Trial from the previous day, before his tone shifted. “The next task you have for today will decide your future at UA…you’ll need to pick a class president.” “_That’s really normal!_” the class thought. “I don’t care how you do it, just decide somehow. I’m going to sleep” the disheveled pro said, zipping himself into his sleeping bag and hiding behind his desk.

Everyone immediately offered themselves up, shouting loudly and wildly. “ENOUGH! IT SHOULD BE DECIDED BY A VOTE!” Iida bellowed, shutting everyone up. The other students could immediately tell he really wanted the position. “Won’t we just vote for ourselves or the people we already know?” Asui asked. “That only means the one with the most votes has already earned the respect of their peers!” Iida responded.

_A few minutes later…_

“WAAAUGH! How did I end up as Class Rep?!” Midoriya asked. “OKAY EXTRAS, who voted for the nerd?!” roared Bakugo, clearly livid. Uraraka whistled innocently, while Hojo played video games and Kujo smirked smugly. The results were clear: Midoriya had gotten the most votes (9), followed by Yaoyorozu (6), Bakugo (3), Iida (2) and Mineta (2).

“Congratulations. Your Class Rep is Midoriya and your Vice-Rep is Yaoyorozu. Now get out of here” Aizawa said, as he collapsed behind his desk again.

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Bright and Cheerful** *****

In the cafeteria, Midoriya, Iida, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu sat at a mostly-empty table, enjoying Lunch Rush’s incredible cooking. “Hey Midoriya, mind if we join you?” someone asked from behind them. Turning around to greet the newcomers, Midoriya found himself looking at the big sister of Class 1-B, Itsuka Kendo. Behind her stood a weird-looking boy with no lips, a brown-haired boy and a girl with curly green hair.

The greenette sat down next to Midoriya, much to Uraraka’s silent distress. “Heya. The name’s Setsuna Tokage. Nice to meet ya!” she said, getting rather…close to the boy, much to Uraraka’s silent distress. “Juzo Honenuki, at your service” the lipless boy said, smiling(?) at them. The brown-haired boy grinned and shook Iida’s hand. “I’m Ryuga Banjo. Nice to meet you!”

“Man, I’m nervous about this Class Rep thing…I don’t think I’m the right pick for the job” Midoriya sighed. “You were made Class Rep too?” asked Kendo. “1-B elected me as their Rep; Jurota Shishida won Vice-Rep.” The green-haired boy looked up. “Really? That’s awesome, Kendo!” he said.

Iida cleared his throat. “Midoriya, I believe that your quick thinking and courage would make you a great Class Representative, as does your incredible strength. That’s why I voted for you” the tall boy said. “You were one of the nine? I wonder who else did?” Midoriya asked, stunned. “Let’s see...Iida did, I did, and I can bet Hojo and Kujo did too” Uraraka said. “What about you, Yaomomo? She asked the girl across from her, who smiled softly. “I actually voted for Iida, to be honest. I didn’t really expect to win Vice-Rep, but I’ll take it” she said.

“Look Mido – can I call you Mido? You’ll do fine. I believe in you!” Tokage said, flashing the boy a smile. “I-I guess…” Midoriya muttered, still not confident. “Look man, I’m not very smart, but if your class voted for you, then they must believe in you and your ability to be a good Class Rep, right?” Banjo said. “Maybe you’re right” Midoriya said, looking up.

“Wanting a job and being qualified for it are two very different things; I’ve learned that much at my family’s hero agency” Iida said, sipping his orange juice. “Agency?” the rest of the table asked. “*sigh* I was hoping that people wouldn’t find out about my family’s legacy and treat me differently because of it” the tall boy lamented, as his friends gathered around him.

“The Iida Family have been pro heroes for generations” Iida explained, garnering wowed reactions from the others at the table. “I take it you know of the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?” he asked, immediately getting Midoriya’s interest. “Yeah! He’s the super-popular pro with 65 sidekicks at his agency in Tokyo! Wait, don’t tell me-!”

The tall boy straightened up proudly, pushing his glasses up. “That’s right, he’s my older brother! He’s an unmatched commander who honors the hero code with every ounce of his being! He’s always been my biggest inspiration, and I can only hope I carry the family’s legacy with the same honor and grace he does!” he exclaimed with great pride. “Wow! That’s awesome!” Tokage said, stars in her eyes.

**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRINGGGGG!**

A loud alarm sounded, jarring everyone in the cafeteria. “**WARNING: LEVEL 3 SECURITY BREACH!**” an automated voice stated. “**PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!**” Iida pulled an upperclassman aside. “Level 3? What does that mean?!” The upperclassman looked at him, panic in his eyes. “It means someone’s breached the security system and gotten onto school grounds! This hasn’t happened in my entire time here! Let’s get outta here!”

The exit of the cafeteria rapidly turned into a stampede, students jostling to escape and evacuate safely. “Dammit, I’m getting squashed!” Banjo yelled. “There’s too many of them!” Uraraka exclaimed, sinking into the crowd. Iida was pressed against a window. “_Who could have breached UA?_” he wondered, before glancing down at the school grounds, eyes widening at what he saw.

“It’s just the press? How did they get in here?!” he asked. “Iida! Who is is?” asked Kendo, as she too was squashed against the window. “It’s the press! We need to let these students know! But how can we get their attention?” the tall boy responded. “Need a lift?” the orange-haired girl responded, as her right hand began to grow dramatically, lifting Iida over the crowd, before flinging him towards the door.

“ATTENTION STUDENTS! THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC; IT’S JUST THE MEDIA! PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY MANNER!” he bellowed, standing on a ledge above the door in an awkward position. The students quieted down and the crowd slowly thinned. The police finally arrived to detain the trespassers as lunch hour ended.

* * *

“Alright, Midoriya, let’s begin” Yaoyorozu said, standing next to the greenette trembling from nervousness. “O-Okay, we need to decide the rest of the class officers…but first, I want to resign as Class Representative and humbly offer this position to Tenya Iida. He showed the judgement and quick thinking needed to calm the students down during the media break-in.” The crowd murmured in agreement, as Iida accepted. Yaoyorozu looked somewhat miffed, but came to accept it when she was told that if she had been Class Rep, Bakugo would have been Vice-Rep.

Outside, at the front gate, the school principal, a hero in a bulky space suit, Midnight, Recovery Girl and an orange-haired man in a construction-themed exosuit looked over the remains of the gate. The thick metal barrier had been decayed into ashes by some unknown Quirk. “No member of the media could have had a Quirk like this” the principal said. “This was most definitely the work of a villain, but the question is…is this a message, or a declaration of war?”

* * *

“Alright, today’s lesson will be a little different, and you’ll each be working in teams under your instructors” Aizawa said, before continuing. “All Might was originally scheduled to work alongside myself and the other pro, but due to unforeseen circumstances, instead of All Might, you will receive instruction from three of your upperclassmen as well.” He then looked towards the open doorway. “You can come in and introduce yourselves now.”

In walked three students. Leading the group was a tall blonde man with bright blue eyes, followed closely by a…really cute blue-haired girl. Bringing up the rear was a vaguely emo teen with pointed ears and black hair. “These are the ‘Big Three’ of UA, from Class 3-B. They’re some of the top hero candidates in the country” Aizawa said.

The blonde grinned a megawatt smile before striking a pose. “Hey guys! Pleased to meet you all! The name’s Mirio Togata, and the future is…?” he asked, cupping a hand to his ear. After several seconds of no response whatsoever, he finally gave the answer he wanted. “Grim! The future is grim!” he said, still smiling despite the bad news.

The bluenette looked at the class. “So these are our juniors? They look really promising” she said in an excited voice. “I’m Nejire Hado! Nice to meet you!” The dark haired one muttered something, before turning to the other two. “I…I can’t do it. I tried imagining them all as potatoes, but I still can’t talk!” Togata smiled, before turning to the class. “Relax, Tamaki. The worrywart here is Tamaki Amajiki. Together, we’re the…” And the three struck a pose together, Togata turning to one side and flexing his muscles, Hado clasping her hands behind her, and Tamaki turning to the opposite side and putting his hands in his pockets. “THE BIG THREE!”

“Oh hey, it’s Hado” Kujo said, catching the girl’s attention. “KUJO! HOJO! Thanks for everything the other night!” she said, earning the two boys the ire of resident class perverts Mineta, Kaminari and Sero. “You bastards! How have you both already gotten with one of our upperclasswomen…” Mineta cried. “That REALLY came out wrong” Amajiki muttered. “Three cheers for double entendres” Hojo deadpanned.

“Anyway, if I could have everyone’s attention again, today’s exercise is rescue training. We’ll be conducting team-based exercises at an off-campus facility and will be taking a bus to get there. If you want to wear your costumes, that’s okay, just remember that some might hinder your mobility. See you on the bus” Aizawa said, walking out of the room.

The students had a wide array of reactions to the news of what they’d be doing. Ashido, Sero, Kaminari and others like them cheered at getting to do something that interesting. Bakugo was silent, but inside his mind was running. “_All my life, I’ve been told by Quirk Counselors that my power is only good for destroying, harming or killing others. Today I have the opportunity to prove those idiots wrong and learn how to use my power to save those weaker than me_” the boy thought, smirking. “_Kacchan’s fired up, that’s for sure_” Midoriya thought, looking at his erstwhile friend.

* * *

At the bus stop, the students gathered to go to their rescue training. “Hey Deku! Why are you wearing your PE clothes instead of your costume?” Uraraka asked. “It got torn up pretty badly in yesterday’s Battle Trial” the boy said. “Turns out that a homemade costume from your mom usually isn’t very durable.” The greenette was wearing a UA gym uniform with the thick white gloves, red boots and respirator from his now-trashed hero costume. He also had a green acrylic visor that the support department had made him on short notice. In the background, Bakugo was wearing a costume that was also clearly affected by the pervious day’s training. “Damn Bike Boy…thanks to that asshole I’m down a gauntlet!” he grumbled. “I’m not sorry at all!” Kujo snickered in the background.

Their upperclassmen were there too. Togata was wearing a white and blue hero costume with a red cape and yellow acrylic mask, with the number one million written on his chest. Amajiki was wearing a black bodysuit with a white cloak and no shoes. Hado, meanwhile, was dressed in a skintight blue and mint green suit, with turquoise spirals around her wrists, and two points styled into her light blue hair. Iida tried to funnel the students into the bus in a single-file line…only for Yaoyorozu to point out that the bus had an open seating plan, thwarting the poor boy’s plans.

As the bus rolled along, the students engaged in conversation. Asui in particular had something to say. “If we’re pointing out the obvious, there’s something I’d like to say – about you in particular, Midoriya” the frog girl said, turning to the boy on her left. “R-Really?” The green-haired girl squinted at him. “That power of yours…it’s really similar to All Might’s” she said. “_Crap! Is she on to us?_” Midoriya panicked internally. “_Relax. It’s a coincidence from their point of view. Follow the cover story_” the voice said. “_R-Right!_”

The greenette sighed. “It’s just a coincidence. My Quirk is strong, but not nearly as strong as All Might’s. Not to mention that I had to be fit enough before I could even use it…” he trailed off. Kirishima butted in. “Yeah, All Might doesn’t break his bones with every use of his Quirk. But seriously, if you had to become strong enough before your Quirk would activate, when did you get it?” Midoriya scratched his head awkwardly. “…The day of the entrance exam.”

The entire bus did a double-take at that. “Wait, seriously? You mean that when you saved Uraraka and blew away the Zero-Pointer, that was the first time you’d ever used your Quirk?” Kujo asked, pulling his Ray-Bans down to the tip of his nose in surprise. “It also means he didn’t know he had a Quirk when he applied for the exam. Incredible” Hojo noted.

“Still…it must be really cool having a flashy Emitter-type Quirk” Kirishima said, Hardening his arm. “My Quirk may be really strong, but it’s kind of boring” he continued. “No, that’s a really cool Quirk. Definitely pro material, even if it’s not that flashy” Midoriya said. “Ah! My Navel Laser is the perfect combination of _finesse_ and _force_” Aoyama said, twinkling slightly. “It’s not very useful if you get a stomachache though” Ashido noted, as the blonde’s spirits fell.

“If anyone in our class has pro-quality Quirks, it has to be Todoroki and Bakugo though” the spiky redhead said, gesturing at the two students. Bakugo scowled a bit, while Todoroki remained asleep. “Sure…but with Bakugo’s ‘charming personality’, I doubt he’ll get far” Kujo joked. “What was that, Bike Boy? I’ll kick your ass!” the blonde snapped. “You tried yesterday. Didn’t that get you several large bruises and a broken piece of support equipment?” Kujo snarked back. By now, Bakugo was steaming.

Kaminari looked smug for a few moments, before adding his two cents. “Y’know, we only just met you, and already we know you have the personality of a burnt turd soaked in sewage.” “I’LL MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU APPLIED TO THIS SCHOOL!” Midoriya watched in stunned silence. “_Is...is Bakugo being the one picked on for once? Man, UA really is different from Aldera…_” the boy thought. “_Given what I’ve read from your memories, Aldera was run by incompetent monkeys, so that’s not difficult_” the voice noted. “_Wait, you read my memories-!_” Midoriya began, before Aizawa cut his train of thought off. “We’ll be arriving in a few moments. Behave” the pro warned them.

* * *

“Hello everyone! So glad you could make it!” the space suit-wearing pro standing outside the building said, waving to them. “Wow! It’s the Space Hero, Thirteen! She’s saved a ton of people all over the world as a rescue hero!” Midoriya began gushing. “Heck yeah! Thirteen is one of my favorite heroes! She’s the one who inspired me to become a hero!” Uraraka fangirled. “Come on in!”

Inside, the students were in awe of the massive facility. “Holy crap, it looks just like Universal Studios Japan!” Sero said. “This is pretty cool, not gonna lie” Kujo grinned. “A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a hurricane, a snowy mountain and a destroyed cityscape. I designed this facility with the goal of being able to prepare students to work with any kind of disaster. I call it…the Unforseen Simulation Joint, AKA the USJ!” Thirteen said. “_It really is Universal Studios Japan_” the students thought.

“We should probably get started” Aizawa said. “Oh right!” Thirteen responded. “Before we begin I have just one thing I need to say…okay two. Possibly three, four or five.” The students had looks of increasing boredom spreading across their faces. “My Quirk, Black Hole, has been used to rescue people all over the world…but it could also easily be used to kill. Lots of Quirks are like that; they can be used to hurt or help, depending on their use. Many of you have Quirks like that too. So today, you’ll be learning the rescue applications of your potentially dangerous Quirks, so that you can be a force of good in this world” the pro said. Aizawa looked as unimpressed as ever. “Alright, now that that’s out of the way, we should get started” he said…

And then everything went wrong.

***cue Rampaging Evil – My Hero Academia OST** *****

The lights flickered and went out, and the fountain in the center of the plaza stopped working. A hole in space began to form right there, and suddenly a wall of purple-black mist erupted in the middle of the plaza. Aizawa stiffened as a pale white hand reached through the mist and opened a hole in it, another hand with a bloodshot red eye and a head of blue hair behind it visible in the hole.

“Everyone, get back! Thirteen, Sun Eater; protect the children! Lemillion, Nejire, you’re with me!” Aizawa barked. Multiple figures began pouring out of the black mist, stalking past the hand’s owner, a lanky young man with blue hair dressed all in black, with multiple severed hands attached to his body. “Hold on, has training already begun?” Kirishima asked. “I said stay back! This is real…those are real villains!” Aizawa said, donning his goggles, as a shiver of fear ran up the students’ spines.

As the stream of villains ebbed, the mist rippled again, and an enormous, muscular black figure with an exposed brain and sharp teeth stepped through next to the skinny one. Then a green figure with what appeared to be a dragon skull on its’ left shoulder and a massive naginata made of bone on its’ back stepped through on the opposite side. But perhaps most surprisingly to Hojo, Kujo and Midoriya, one last figure stepped out of the mist, before the wall thinned out…a black and purple copy of Ex-Aid.

“Time to kill the Symbol of Peace.”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**Invasion! The students of 1-A find themselves in combat against real villains! How will they fare against the true evil of the world? And who is the black Ex-Aid? Stay tuned!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
Aaaaaaaaaand it’s USJ time! Man, I can already tell that I’m going to enjoy writing this part of the story A LOT. Hope you enjoy the early introduction of the Big Three, and liked the Build reference that I put in as one of 1-B’s students!
> 
> Also, major shoutout to user D3lph0xLov3r on Fanfiction dot net! I really appreciate your reading and reviewing!
> 
> In this overhauling, we have character development for both Bakugo and the voice in Midoriya’s head! Also, more Kamen Rider backstory!
> 
> See you next time!


	6. Chapter 6: Shock! A Sudden Invasion, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Attack! The USJ is under siege by the League of Villains, and the students have been scattered all over the place. Can they beat the odds to save the day?

**CHAPTER 6: SHOCK! A SUDDEN INVASION, PART 1**

* * *

“Kill the Symbol of Peace”

“Curious. The only real heroes I see here are Thirteen and Eraserhead. According to the schedule we retrieved from UA, All Might should be here, not the Big Three” the black mist spoke in a deep baritone. “So, you pieces of shit used the media as a cover to sneak into UA” Aizawa said, raising his capture scarf. The figure covered in hands spoke in a hissy, gravely voice. “Where is he? I went to the trouble of bringing along so many friends to play with All Might. Oh well…maybe he’ll show if we kill a few kids, eh?” The small army of street thugs advanced towards the stairs, while the students looked down in horror.

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia Opening 1 – The Day** *****

* * *

“Why aren’t the alarms going off?” Togata asked. “They must have someone with a Quirk that’s jamming the alarm signal and our communications! Kaminari, use your Quirk to contact UA!” 1-A’s homeroom teacher said, as the electric blonde nodded and tapped his headset. “Thirteen, you and Sun Eater get the children out of here! Nejire, Lemillion and I will engage the enemy!” Aizawa continued, as his capture scarf began floating. “But Aizawa-sensei, you’re a close-range stealth fighter! You’re at a massive disadvantage here!” Midoriya protested. The pro glanced back at his students and flashed what was by his standards a smile. “No good hero is a one-trick pony.”

With that, the black-suited pro launched himself down the stairs, surprising a group of long-range fighters with his erasure powers and rapidly incapacitating them. Hado floated over the plaza, shooting indiscriminate kinetic blasts at the villains, while Togata sunk into the ground, popping out occasionally, incapacitating villains with a single hit.

The students rushed forward towards the doors, guarded by Thirteen and Sun Eater, when a vortex of black mist appeared, and the two yellow eyes of the mist villain glared down at them. “I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t allow you to leave. After all, it would be a pain if someone other than the Symbol of Peace showed up. Our goal is very simple: we, the League of Villains, are here to kill All Might.”

“I don’t think so!” Bakugo roared, as he and Kirishima attacked the mist, dispersing it with a large explosion. As the smoke cleared, it the mist villain gathered himself again. “Impressive. Just what I’d expect from a bunch of golden eggs. But strength alone won’t save you” the villain monologued. “Get back!” Amajiki yelled, transforming his fingers into long tentacles as the villain shot tendrils of mist through the air, surrounding them in a cocoon of darkness. “I’ll scatter you to meet my comrades across this facility!”

The students were swept up in a wave of darkness. Shoji grabbed as many of them as he could in his arms and grabbed them, Amajiki pulling them to safety, while Iida managed to escape the cocoon with two more. The rest found themselves falling towards the ground in each of the various zones around the USJ. And as he finished teleporting them, he said one more thing.

“Emu Hojo, Kiriya Kujo…I have one friend in particular who really wants to meet you.”

* * *

Uraraka was falling. Really fast, towards a giant lake, which was teeming with aquatic villains. As she splashed down, a crocodile-like villainess swam towards her. “Nothing personal, girlie, but my orders are to kill everyone that falls in here…and that includes you!” she said, jaws open wide and ready to strike.

And then, like an avenging green angel, Asui slammed into the side of the villainess, knocking her out. On her back, Midoriya clung on for dear life, as the frog girl snared Uraraka in her tongue and flung her through the air towards the boat. The brunette cancelled her own gravity and gently landed on the side of the boat. A few moments later, Midoriya was lowered to the deck of the boat as Asui climbed up the side of the boat.

“Thanks Asui!” Midoriya choked out. “I thought I told you two to call me Tsu!” the frog girl responded as she climbed over the side of the boat. “This school trip has kinda sucked, to be honest” she said.

_Tsuyu Asui. Her Quirk: Frog! She’s basically a frog-woman._

“So, we’re on a boat, surrounded by villains, with no idea if any backup is on the way” Uraraka said. “I’m kind of concerned about what that mist villain said. They clearly planned this attack out very well and likely think they have a way to kill All Might” Midoriya said. “How do we get out of here, _kero_?” Asui asked.

“Think Izuku! Uraraka’s Quirk allows her to make things float by removing gravity from them. I can attack with Delaware Smashes from my fingers, and Asui’s Quirk allows her to extend her tongue and leap a long way. How can we beat the odds with our Quirks?” Midoriya mumbled. “Deku, you’re mumbling again” Uraraka giggled, snapping the boy out of his trance with a crazed gleam in his eye. “I think I know how we can get out of here. We’d better pull this off…it’s up to us to be the heroes today.”

In the Landslide Zone, Todoroki had flash-frozen almost the entire area with a single move. “Wh-What’s with this crazy kid? How’s he so powerful?!” one of the villains panicked. “Pathetic. C’mon, Hagakure; maybe the next group will be more cooperative” Todoroki said, gesturing to the invisible girl behind him. “Aye aye, sir!” the pair of gloves appeared to salute before running behind him.

In the Mountain Zone, Jiro, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari did their best to fight off the villains surrounding them. Meanwhile, in the Ruins Zone, Bakugo and Kirishima tore through their foes with ease. In the Conflagration Zone, Ojiro and Mineta stood ready to fight. And in the Downpour Zone, Koda and Tokoyami held off those who would harm them.

And high above them, on one of the steel beams near the top of the dome, a dark-haired boy wearing a black jacket and bright pink pants with blue and yellow pixel designs on them sat and watched the chaos unfold. His eyes flashed red for a moment, before returning to brown. “Let the game begin.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Kujo and Hojo landed in a small clearing in the trees between the Mountain and Landslide Zones. “Owwwwwww” Hojo complained. Kujo stood up and stretched, before looking to his fellow Rider. “Huh, not a lot of enemies here, eh, Emu?” he asked. “**That’s because I’m here to deal with you two myself without any common thugs getting in my way**” a distorted electronic voice interrupted the duo.

***cue Wish in the Dark – Kamen Rider Ex-Aid OST** *****

The black and purple Ex-Aid walked out from behind a tree, wearing a purple gauntlet with two red buttons on his right arm. The two immediately got into fighting stances. “Who the hell are you?” Kujo demanded, as he reached into his costume and produced a green and pink belt, Hojo doing the same. “If you won’t answer us…we’ll have to take getting an answer into our own hands!” the other boy stated, lifting a pink game cartridge.

“**By all means, please do henshin. I’ve been waiting for far too long to collect combat data on Ex-Aid and Lazer**” the black rider said. “You asked for it…” Kujo muttered, raising a yellow game cartridge as he and his partner placed the belts on their waists, before pushing the buttons on the cartridges. “**GAMER DRIVER!**” the belts announced as they activated.

“**MIGHTY ACTION X!**” “**BAKUSOU BIKE!**” The two cartridges activated, creating cartoonish screens behind their users, washing a wave of pixels over the area and spitting out large floating boxes made of…chocolate (?) and small gold trophies randomly through the area. “HENSHIN!” the boys announced in unison, as they slotted the cartridges into their belts. “**GASHA-TO!**” the belts announced, displaying several cartoonish characters on a rotating screen around their users, who selected two characters, Hojo by tapping the screen, Kujo with a roundhouse kick.

“**LET’S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHAT’CHA NAME? I’M A KAMEN RIDER!**” the belts announced, as, in a burst of pixels, the two teens’ forms were enveloped by their two Level 1 forms. They had transformed into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Kamen Rider Lazer! “**We’ll clear this…with no continues!**” the two said, before rushing at their opponent.

Despite the numbers disadvantage, the black copycat had no issue holding both his opponents off, switching his wrist weapon between Chainsaw Mode and Blaster Mode to hold the duo off. “**Emu, you need to level up. I’ll keep him busy**!” Lazer said, breaking a trophy open and grabbing a small token with a cartoonish figure on it. “**SPEED UP!**” a voice announced as Kujo blitzed the black rider. Hojo, meanwhile, grabbed the lever on his belt. “**Dai-Henshin!**” he said, pulling the lever and opening the panel on the Driver.

“**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION-X!**” With that, the boy’s armor flew off and he transformed into a slimmer pink form. “**Let’s clear this, no continues!**” he shouted, attacking his black doppelganger. “**Now two against one? That’s hardly fair. If you’re leveling up like that…maybe I should to**” the villain rider purred, before raising a lime-green Gashat and activating it. “**SHAKARIKI SPORTS!**” it announced, as a game screen appeared behind the rider and a green and pink BMX bike rode around him. He closed his driver and inserted the cartridge, before re-opening it.

“**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY ACTION~X! A-GACCHA! SHAKARIKI SHAKARIKI! BAD BAD! SHAKA TO RIKI TO SHAKARIKI SPORTS!**” the belt announced, as the bike floated up above the rider’s head and disassembled itself, giving him bike-themed armor on his upper body and a bike helmet over his normal armor. “**Prepare to taste the power…of Level 3!**”

* * *

Up on the entryway, Shoji had his tentacles deployed, sensory organs on the ends. “They’ve been scattered across the USJ, but our classmates are all still here” the quiet boy said, much to the relief of his peers. “Iida, we have an important job for you” said Thirteen. “We need you to get out of here and run like hell back to UA’s main campus. Get help for us; if Eraserhead, Nejire and Lemillion are doing this good a job of holding the villains off on their own, then with more pros we’ll have this over with in no time!”

Iida looked at the ground. “But, it would be disgraceful of me to leave you all here to fight alone-!” he started, before Amajiki cut him off. “Look, to be a hero, you need to know when to retreat and call for help. This is one of those times, and you’re the fastest person in class. Go!” he said. “Alright…I won’t let you down!” the tall boy said, straightening up, engines deploying from his calves.

“You fools. Strategizing in front of your enemy; what are you thinking?” the mist villain asked in a somewhat exasperated, disappointed tone (almost as if he’d spent a long time dealing with disappointingly shortsighted youngsters himself), shooting dark tendrils at the students. “Knowing that won’t help you, you know!” Thirteen responded, opening one of the caps on her fingertips and activating her Quirk, creating a vortex that began sucking the tendrils in.

* * *

“Are we ready?” Midoriya asked his teammates. Asui _kero­_-ed in agreement, and Uraraka nodded. “Then here we-!” he began, before being interrupted by a giant hand of water slicing the boat in half. One vaguely skeletal villain laughed as water swirled around his hand; he was clearly the source of the attack. “I’ve had enough waiting. Let’s kill some kids!” he said, earning the agreement of the other baddies. “Huh, this actually makes the plan easier. Uraraka…NOW!” the greenette shouted.

***cue You Say Run – My Hero Academia OST** *****

The round-faced girl touched all five fingers to the deck of the boat’s bow, as the stern began to sink. The boat’s front end slowly floated into the air, much to the shock of the villains below. “Somebody stop them!” the skeleton-faced one said. A redheaded girl with fins for ears and a man who looked vaguely like a discount Aquaman swam to the front of the group, small water bullets slowly flowing out of the water and into the air around them.

Midoriya took a deep breath, and looking down at the angry villains channeled One For All into his middle finger. “DELAWAAAARE…SMASH!” he shouted, firing a massive blast of air. The sheer force of the attack turned the lake into a turbulent mess for the villains, but more importantly, it launched the front half of the boat into the air, sailing over the Conflagration Zone…directly towards the wall of the USJ.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Midoriya and Uraraka screamed in terror, hugging each other very tightly, before Asui shot her tongue towards the roof of the dome, snagging a steel beam. The momentum of the weightless boat slowed, and its’ course began to turn towards the Landslide Zone, completely missing the Mountain Zone. “Whew! That was close!” Uraraka said, before she and the greenette noticed their…close proximity to each other. They immediately jumped away in red-faced embarrassment, while Asui _kero_-ed in amusement.

In the Mountain Zone, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu and Jiro were doing a good job of holding off their opponents when the villains were distracted by a shadow looking over them. As the flying boat flew over, the trio attacked the villains with a redoubled fury, sending electric shocks, soundwaves and paintball blasts with little to no mercy towards their would-be torturers.

In between the two zones, the Rider battle briefly paused, with all three combatants looking up towards the flying boat. Kujo seized the opportunity to kick things into high gear. “Second Gear!” the yellow-armored figure said, opening his driver up. “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! BAKUSOU, DOKUSOU, GEKISOU, BOUSOU, BAKUSOU BIKE!**” announced his belt, as his body folded and changed into…a yellow bike? The pink Rider hopped on the bike and renewed his efforts attacking his black counterpart, dodging flying bike wheels tossed by the dark rider.

At the Landslide Zone, Todoroki and Hagakure had just finished interrogating another batch of villains and determined the League’s plan: use the giant, black-skinned, bird-headed monstrosity in the middle of the square to kill All Might. As the boat passed by, Midoriya called out to the duo. “Grab on!” he shouted as Asui shot her tongue out, having let go of the roof now that the boat’s momentum had slowed. Picking Hagakure up bridal style, much to the girl’s joy, the bichromatic boy grabbed the frog girl’s tongue and allowed himself to be reeled in. “Whee!” the invisible girl shouted as they were reeled in.

Todoroki straightened up after landing on the deck. “We’ve found out their plan” he announced. “The black villain with the exposed brain in the middle of the courtyard is a bioengineered anti-All Might weapon. They want to use it to wear him down to the point he can be killed, either by it or by the villain leader” he related, much to the growing horror of the other passengers.

“No way…All Might can’t just be killed like that, can he?” Uraraka asked. “If that monster is designed to fight All Might head-on, then we won’t be able to beat it ourselves…but we can at least damage it” Midoriya said. “If we can ram the boat into it, then we can at least make things easier for Aizawa-sensei, Hado-senpai and Togata-senpai if they have to fight it.” With that, the boy began running some quick calculations in a notebook left on the ship’s bridge, intending to take the fight to the baddies.

* * *

In the plaza, the hand-covered man and his monstrous pet watched the carnage unfold, while the dragon man sat next to them. The two students and pro hero were making quick work out of the thugs they had gathered. “Shigaraki…I want to fight them already” the dragon growled, staring at the trio. “Hmmmmmm…it looks like perhaps the time is right, Graphite. The minibosses have been tearing our grunts apart…but if a higher-leveled player gets involved, the tide should turn pretty quick. Do it.”

“That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear!” the dragon man responded, climbing to his feet, and dashing into the fray. Aizawa saw him coming, and activated his Quirk…only to get punched halfway across the square by his undeterred foe. “How...? I should have erased your Quirk!” Aizawa said, as he stood back up, now bleeding from several small cuts on his sides and back.

The dragonic humanoid began to laugh. “Quirk? What Quirk? I am the Dragon Warrior of Drago Knight Hunter Z, the Graphite Bugster! I have no Quirk to nullify; I don’t need any such crutch! Quirks are for the weak – the humans!” the Bugster gloated, before grabbing the Graphite Fang off his back and dealing several large slashes to the pro, including a massive one across his face, cutting just below his right eye, knocking the pro out momentarily.

“Aizawa-sensei!” Togata shouted, speeding towards the Bugster, dropping underground before popping up to deliver a powerful blow to his opponent. Graphite roared in rage, before swinging his weapon at the blonde boy, the attack harmlessly passing through him. “I see…a phasing ability” the Bugster noted, before glancing upward. “You are clearly unaffected by my attacks, but I wonder…is she?” he said, pointing to Hado’s floating figure. Togata’s eyes widened. “_No_.”

Graphite spun his weapon around and gathered red energy, before drawing a X-shaped attack in the air with the blades. Togata used his Quirk to dive as deep as he could, then released it, shooting towards the surface at incredible speeds. “Dragon Fang of Rage!” Graphite shouted, sending the attack up towards Hado. The girl didn’t see the attack coming until it was too late…but as she stared at the oncoming slash of doom, a blue, white and gold blur shot up from the ground, as Togata took the blow for her, falling to the ground bleeding from a massive X-shaped wound on his chest.

“MIRIOOOOOOOOO!”

Aizawa got back up and charged the Bugster again, intent on avenging his former student. Shigaraki scratched his neck, then straightened up, and dashed in, stopping one of Aizawa’s strikes with his hand. Where the fingers made contact, the pro’s skin began to crack and decay, as muscle became exposed. “You tried so hard, and got so far. You really are cool, Eraserhead. Probably one of the few pros who lives up to the hype they’ve been given” Shigaraki hissed. Aizawa stumbled back in pain, while the gaunt villain stood confidently. “I think it’s time for our highest-leveled player to get involved. Nomu…get him.” As Aizawa moved back, a shadow loomed over him, and he turned around to see the giant black villain reaching towards him…and then there was only blood.

* * *

The students aboard the flying ship looked on in shock at this turn of events. “No…we’ve gotta do something!” Hagakure said. “Right! You guys know the plan! Everybody abandon ship!” Midoriya said, as Asui turned the boat with her tongue, sending it on a collision course with the Nomu. Down in the square, Shigaraki turned to watch as the boat sailed towards the plaza, more specifically his living weapon.

“R-Release!” Uraraka said, the strain of canceling the gravity of such a large object finally getting to her. “Nomu, get that boat” the villain boss ordered, as his hulking monster dashed towards the improvised projectile. As the students landed in the treetops of the nearby forested area, they watched the boat hit its’ target.

The result was spectacular. The boat slammed into the Nomu with enough force to drive the living weapon backwards. A chunk of metal pushed forward by the impact severed the Nomu’s arm, and by the time the monster had stopped the boat, a 20-meter long path of destruction had been carved into the plaza, and the monster was panting heavily from the effort. “Looks like those kids might actually pose a problem…” Shigaraki muttered. “Nomu, you know what to do” he said, as the monster groaned, then, much to the disgust of the falling teens, regrew its’ arm. “A regeneration Quirk?” Midoriya said. “_Ewwwwwwww, that’s a pretty grody regeneration Quirk!_” the voice in his head said in disgust.

The group finally made it to the ground in one piece, Uraraka and Midoriya having floated down, Asui having slowed her descent with her tongue, and Todoroki gracefully coming down from the treetops with Hagakure in his arms. As they landed however, they heard a noise from behind them. A noise…like a motorcycle?

The black Ex-Aid burst into the plaza, catching the attention of all the combatants. The noise kept increasing in volume, until Ex-Aid shot out of the forest, riding on Lazer while wielding the Gashacon Breaker, bringing it down in a wide arc. “Who the hell are those?” Todoroki asked aloud. “_Hojo? Kujo? Who the heck is that black Ex-Aid anyway? And what’s that armor?_” Midoriya wondered, noting the spinning wheels being thrown by the evil rider. “_Interesting. A dark counterpart?_” the voice wondered.

Hado seized the opportunity to attack the Nomu…but the brute began advancing towards her, unfazed. “H-How? How is that thing surviving my attacks?” the bluenette asked. “He has a name: Nomu, the bioengineered Anti-Symbol of Peace. He obeys me unconditionally; it’s truly wonderful. Nomu…’sic her.” Hado’s eyes widened, knowing that things were about to hurt for her – a lot.

The monster suddenly broke into a dead run, covering the gap between them in no time, absorbing her kinetic blasts with his Shock Absorption Quirk, before roaring and grabbing the girl with his right hand, before slamming her repeatedly into the concrete, knocking the girl out hard. Shigaraki smiled a thin, dry smile under the hand on his face at the sight of one of the nation’s most promising hero trainees being utterly demolished by his brainless pet. “An impressive little hero…but not good enough!”

As the Riders fought, with Graphite joining in on the fun after a few moments, the mist villain appeared in the center of the plaza. “Thirteen has been incapacitated by her own Quirk…but one of the students escaped” the living fog said. Shigaraki began to scratch his neck, first softly, but quickly becoming more intense, until his neck was covered in raw, bleeding patches. “Kurogiri…if you weren’t our exit, I’d atomize you here and now! It’s all over; we can’t win with dozens of pros here!” Shigaraki said in an anxious panic, his fingers now staining red with his own blood.

“I guess we’d better leave…” the man-child said, before turning towards the bushes the students were hiding in. “But first, let’s wreck the Symbol of Peace’s pride a bit, and kill some kids!” he continued, appearing in front of them, hand outstretched towards Uraraka’s face. All Midoriya could see in that moment was a vision of the gravity girl crumbling to dust…and he knew fear and rage in every particle of his being. The villain’s hand made contact, but nothing happened. Aizawa had raised his head enough to activate his Quirk, erasing Shigaraki’s power.

“You really are cool, Eraserhead. But we can’t have our last spit in All Might’s face be thwarted like that. Nomu, stop him” the villain ordered, as the black behemoth winked out of existence and reappeared next to Aizawa’s prone form, smashing his head into the concrete and knocking him out. “Now, where were we?” Shigaraki wondered aloud. “Oh that’s right, it’s time for this round-faced bitch to die!” he said, reaching towards Uraraka again. “NO!” Midoriya shouted, leaping out of the bush, swinging his fist and channeling One For All, while shouting one word. “SMAAAAAAAAASH!”

A blast of air pressure blew Todoroki, Hagakure and Asui back into the trees, the wind buffeting the group at the top of the stairs, blowing out glass windows all the way in the Ruins Zone and creating waves on the lake in the Shipwreck Zone. “_I-I did it? I didn’t break my arm for once!_” Midoriya thought, as the dust cloud parted to reveal…the Nomu, standing in the way of his attack, completely unharmed.

Suddenly, a terrible realization about the villains’ plan to kill All Might washed over the boy, as he looked up at the mindless artificial human in horror. “Oho, you’ve got power behind your blows. And ‘Smash’? Must be a follower of All Might. But it doesn’t matter. Nomu” Shigaraki said, giving the beast a silent order to destroy. As it clasped a massive fist around Midoriya’s arm, while Shigaraki reached again for Uraraka, all Todoroki could do was stare in horror. “_Come on, MOVE DAMMIT!_” he shouted at himself, staring at the sight unfolding a hundred yards or so away.

Then the doors of the USJ exploded off their hinges, and everyone stopped.

“WHO DID THIS?” boomed a tremendous voice, sending chills of horror up the spines of every villain in the facility, while waves of relief washed over the students. “WHO HURT MY CHILDREN?” the voice continued, as a massive footstep echoed through the USJ. “WHO DARED TO HURT MY FELLOW TEACHERS?” The dust cloud cleared, and there stood the Symbol of Peace…and for the first time any of the students could ever recall, he wasn’t smiling.

“YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THIS, VILLAINS.” Shigaraki turned around, ignoring Uraraka. “Oh? Looks like we’re getting a continue after all” he said, as the Nomu let go of Midoriya.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The Symbol of Peace has finally arrived, and it’s time for a good old-fashioned slugfest! How will All Might beat a weapon designed to kill him? And were Kujo and Hojo supposed to see that? Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
I knew I’d have fun playing with the USJ Arc’s events, and it seems I was right. Hope you liked the ‘flying ship’ stunt, and the fight between Genm and the student Riders! See you next time!  
Also, holy fuck, we passed 20k words in this chapter. Awesome AF!
> 
> UPDATE: As of the overhauling of this chapter on 12/7/19, we’ve exceeded 50K words for Game Start! Woohoo!


	7. Chapter 7: Shock! A Sudden Invasion, Part 2!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Might has arrived! But can the Symbol of Peace himself stop the League, or will he fall? And was Kujo supposed to see that?

**CHAPTER 7: VILLAIN INVASION, PART 2**

* * *

The Symbol of Peace strode purposefully into the USJ, his footsteps shaking the entire facility, as the villains stared in horror while a wave of hope washed over the students. “I KNEW SOMETHING WAS AMISS WHEN AIZAWA AND THIRTEEN DIDN’T ANSWER MY CALLS” All Might started, continuing forward. “AND MY WORST FEARS WERE CONFIRMED WHEN I RAN INTO YOUNG IIDA ON MY WAY HERE.”

“BUT HAVE NO FEAR, STUDENTS…BECAUSE **I AM HERE!**”

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia opening 1 – The Day** *****

* * *

“Looks like the final boss has finally arrived” Shigaraki said, standing up and turning away from the bush. The minor villains gawked at the Number One hero’s arrival, before one took the initiative. “Don’t just stand there, morons! Let’s get hi-!” the villain began, before All Might blurred out of existence and blitzed the villains, reappearing with Aizawa cradled in his massive arms, Hado and Togata each balanced on his shoulders.

“MY STUDENTS…MY COLLEAGUES…I’M TRULY SORRY” the blonde giant said, as he set the injured heroes down by the base of the stairs. Then, quick as a thunderbolt, he snatched Uraraka, Midoriya, Hagakure and Asui out of harm’s way and set them down next to the injured, the shockwaves detaching the hand from Shigaraki’s face. “GET THEM TO SAFETY. I’LL HANDLE THIS” he said.

“Wait! That birdlike one…he took a full-powered Smash from me like it was nothing! He’s designed to fight you!” Midoriya said, concern heavy in his voice. “DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME, YOUNG MIDORIYA. I GOT THIS!” All Might said, flashing a peace sign at the children. The greenette’s facial features hardened in determination. “If you’re going to fight him, target his right arm. We ripped it off earlier and he had to regenerate from that damage, but it looks like a painful and complex process” the greenette said. “THANK YOU, YOUNG MIDORIYA!” All Might boomed, getting into a fighting stance. “The Symbol of Peace, eh? I’ve been waiting to have a crack at you!” Graphite said, dashing at the blonde giant…only to get knocked clear across the plaza with one hit.

The Bugster sat up, laughing madly. “YES! That’s what I’m talking about! All Might truly is one of the few worthy of being my opponent!” he shouted, ready to strike again…when the black Ex-Aid stopped him. “**Graphite, we’re done here. The League is screwed; let’s not share in their misfortune”** the distorted voice warbled. “Fine, Genm” the Bugster grumbled, as the duo teleported away in a burst of pixels. The two student riders just stared. “**Well…that happened**” Kujo said, headlight eyes flashing. “**Genm? Is he connected somehow to President Dan?**” Hojo wondered aloud.

Up in the top of the dome, the black-haired boy laughed. “Those two can quit early…but I want to see how this stage ends. One way or another, the game becomes more interesting than it was before…” he said, eyes flashing again.

The Symbol of Peace turned to look at Shigaraki and the Nomu again, the birdlike villain still frozen in place after Midoriya had been stolen from its’ grasp. “CAROLINA…SMASH!” All Might roared, dashing towards the skinny villain. “Nomu” Shigaraki said, ordering his pet to dash in, intercepting the Symbol of Peace’s attack, dispersing the attack and sending a blast of wind throughout the building, ripping up the forest behind them.

The blonde giant stared in shock for a few moments, before throwing himself backwards to avoid the black beast’s lunge towards him. “LOOKS LIKE MY ATTACKS REALLY HAVE NO EFFECT ON YOU! LET’S TRY THIS!” All Might said, punching the Nomu in the face repeatedly to no effect, before the creature charged again. “That’s because Nomu here has Shock Absorption. The only way to beat him is to slowly gouge out his flesh…and I don’t think he’ll take that lying down” Shigaraki said “You’ve finally met your match!”

The Nomu swung again, but missed as All Might sped around him. “THANKS FOR TELLING ME HOW TO BEAT HIM! JUST GOTTA GET HIM OUT OF THE WAY…THEN I CAN TAKE CARE OF YOU!” the Symbol of Peace said, grabbing the Nomu from behind and slamming him into the ground with a German suplex, a tower of dust rising from the point of impact. “Hey, hey now…” Shigaraki said, while the students cheered, hopeful that the pro had won…

And then the dust cleared. All Might’s body was arched, holding the black beast down…but the Nomu’s body had gone through a black portal and reappeared a foot or two away as its’ fingers dug into the Symbol of Peace’s side, right on his injury. “Excellent, Kurogiri, we’ve got him right where we want him…” Shigaraki said, grinning under his hand mask. All Might tried in vain to pry himself from the Nomu’s grasp, but couldn’t muster the strength to do so.

“Normally I don’t like blood and guts inside my warp gates, but I’ll make an exception for someone of your stature” Kurogiri said, yellow eyes glowing malevolently. “You’re too fast to catch, so Nomu had to restrain you…but now that you’re trapped, we’ll lower you halfway through one of my portals, and then I’ll squeeze it shut around you!” All Might’s eyes widened, seeing Midoriya running towards him. “NO, YOUNG MIDORIYA, DON’T-!” he said, as a portal opened in front of the boy…

Before Bakugo rushed in from out of nowhere and detonated a powerful explosion in the warp gate’s face. “Outta my way, Deku!” he roared. At the same time, Kirishima dropped out of nowhere in front of Shigaraki, forcing the lanky villain to retreat a few steps. The temperature dropped dramatically as a wave of ice traveled across the ground, freezing the Nomu’s right half, while Hojo, still in Rider form gripped both of the Nomu’s hands and forcibly ripped All Might out of the creature’s grasp, the panting Symbol of Peace jumping back a safe distance.

“Sorry we’re late” Todoroki said. “Got blown back almost to the Landslide Zone by that last exchange.” “Who the hell is that extra? Do I need to kick his ass too?” Bakugo growled at Ex-Aid. “Don’t worry about him! He’s an ally!” Midoriya covered for his Rider friends. “Whatever. As long as he stays out of my way, I don’t care if he’s the Queen of England” the blonde snorted.

Bakugo was holding Kurogiri on the ground by an ornate metal collar, one hand popping with explosions. “Don’t move, or I’ll blast you into the next life” he warned. “Now that’s not very heroic of you, is it?” Shigaraki said. “Violence is okay as long as it’s government sponsored and done in the name of good or some garbage like that, right? What hypocrisy” the villain seethed. “Bullshit” Todoroki said, as he lowered the temperature of his ice more, fractures beginning to develop on the Nomu’s limbs. “Excuse me?” Shigaraki asked.

“There’s a fundamental difference between violence used to preserve the peaceful lives of the innocent masses, and violence done for the sake of terror or destruction. You don’t really care about any sort of morality, do you? Just a crazed nihilistic anarchist trying to destroy society” the bichromatic boy said, narrowing his eyes. “The Symbol of Peace won’t be killed by thugs like you today; I’ll make sure of that.”

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Rampaging Evil** *****

Shigaraki shrugged. “Well, you got me. Nomu, get up.” With that, the inhuman weapon crawled out of the warp gate, its’ arm and leg breaking off as it roared in pain. Then its’ eyes rolled around in its’ exposed brain, before muscle and bone grew grotesquely out of its’ open wounds, knitting both limbs back together. “I THOUGHT YOU SAID HIS POWER WAS SHOCK ABSORPTION. APPARENTLY YOUNG MIDORIYA WASN’T KIDDING ABOUT A REGENERATION QUIRK TOO” All Might said, sweating nervously. “I didn’t say that was his only power. Now…secure our warp gate” Shigaraki said, as the Nomu finished healing, albeit slowed on its’ right arm, and dashed towards Bakugo.

A massive shockwave sent the heroes-in-training flying, knocking Kujo over and blowing Hojo into the trees and out of his transformation. “KAACHAN!” Midoriya screamed, before looking to his right. “Wait, how did you get here?” he asked of the explosive blonde, who was sitting right next to him. “So…fast” was all the normally loudmouthed boy could say. As the dust cleared, All Might’s giant frame came into view, the pro now even more hurt with his back to the Downpour Zone, the shockwave having opened a hole in the dome, wind and rain leaking out.

“I’M OKAY” the pro panted out. “YOU CHILDREN STAY BACK!” “But…you’re running on fumes now! Not to mention, Kaachan found the misty guy’s weakness. We can help you!” Midoriya said. “I SAID STAY BACK! I’VE GOT THIS…LET ME SHOW YOU HOW A PRO HANDLES THINGS!” All Might said. “Somebody help me” muttered Kujo on the ground. Hojo rushed out of the forest. “Sorry I’m late! Kiriya is here somewhere” he gestured at the forest, while Midoriya silently sighed in relief over their secret remaining intact.

***cue My Hero Academia OST – You Say Run** *****

The bioweapon straightened up next to its’ master and the warp gate. “Nomu…Kurogiri…kill him. I’ll deal with the children myself” Shigaraki hissed. “_IT’S TRUE…I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE MINUTES LEFT IN MY MUSCLE FORM; I’M GETTING WEAKER QUICKER THAN I EXPECTED_” All Might thought to himself, shifting into a battle stance. “Let’s clear this level quickly; we’ve got all of our continues in place and ready to go” Shigaraki said, launching himself towards the students.

“_EVEN SO…I HAVE TO STOP THESE VILLAINS_” All Might continued. “Looks like this is our stage to fight after all…” Kirishima trailed off, as Shigaraki closed the gap between them. “_BECAUSE I AM…_” One For All charged within the pro, giving him a second wind. “_THE WORLD’S SYMBOL OF PEACE AND JUSTICE!_” And with that, the pro charged forward, the Nomu mimicking him as they clashed halfway between the two groups, the shockwaves from their collision throwing everyone back.

“Weren’t you listening earlier? One of his Quirks is Shock Absorption!” Shigaraki said, pirouetting in midair. “YEAH, WHAT ABOUT IT?” All Might asked, as he and the Nomu began exchanging hits faster than the eye could track. “He’s really going to fight that thing head on?” Midoriya asked aloud, being blown back by the wind from the clash of titans. “So…fast!” Hojo noted. On the villain side, Kurogiri was doing his best not to disintegrate into a fine mist. “I can’t get near them!”

“HE SAID HIS QUIRK WAS SHOCK ABSORPTION, NOT NULLIFICATION. THAT MEANS YOU CAN’T KEEP GOING FOREVER, RIGHT?” All Might said, as the force of their rapid-fire fistcuffs broke the ground around the two combatants and cracks developed in the dome of the nearby Conflagration Zone. “IF YOU CAN REALLY WITHSTAND ME FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS, I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO GO BEYOND THAT AND FORCE YOU TO SURRENDER!” All Might said, as he began to overwhelm the Nomu, their clash tearing up the forested areas.

The students watched in awe as the pro gained the upper hand. “A REAL HERO…” All Might began, blocking a blow from the Nomu. “NO MATTER THE SITUATION, WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY FOR JUSTICE TO PREVAIL!” he roared, stunning the beast with a diving kick reminiscent of Hojo and Kujo’s Rider Kicks, before grabbing the weapon’s arm and spinning around, the two’s momentum carrying them high into the air, before the pro released the beast with a mighty roar, sending it to the plaza below.

As the monster bounced into the air, All Might landed, seemingly a vision of raw power. “NOW FOR TODAY’S LESSON. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THESE WORDS BEFORE, BUT I’LL TEACH YOU WHAT IT REALLY MEANS!” All Might said, pulling his fist back, a vortex of air developing around it. “TO GO BEYOND: PLUS…ULTRAAAAA!” he roared, punching the Nomu in the stomach. His fist seemed to glow before the Nomu shot like a giant bullet through the air, tearing through the dome like it was wet paper and soaring through several nearby clouds.

The USJ shook from the impact, as everyone on both sides of the battle stared in awe. At the entrance, Sero rubbed his eyes. “Am I going crazy, or was that a flying villain?” he asked. Sato stared in awe. “It was that brain monster!” “Such power…” Amajiki trailed off, Shoji nodding in agreement. “What an incredible hero” the multi-armed boy said.

“That was like a limit breaker in a video game…he beat the shock absorption right out of him…” Hojo said, eyes wide. “_He really is the best…_” Todoroki thought. “What insane power; he must have been punching that guys so fast that he couldn’t keep up” Bakugo said. “_Just what kind of power did I inherit?!_” Midoriya thought, as the dust cleared from around the triumphant figure of the Symbol of Peace.

“I REALLY HAVE GOTTEN WEAKER” All Might said. “BACK IN MY PRIME, I’D ONLY HAVE NEEDED TO HIT HIM FOUR OR FIVE TIMES…” the pro flashed a thumbs-up. “BUT TODAY IT TOOK OVER THREE HUNDRED MIGHTY HITS!” He then turned to look towards Shigaraki, the man-child still shaking in rage. “IT’S OVER. YOU’VE BEEN BESTED. SURRENDER NOW, SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS OVER WITH.”

“No…he was supposed to be weaker, but he beat my Nomu with strength to spare” Shigaraki hissed, violently scratching his neck. “He cheated!” All Might stared the villain leader down. “WHAT’S WRONG? WEREN’T YOU GOING TO CLEAR THIS LEVEL? WELL, COME ON! GATHER UP YOUR CONTINUES, AND HAVE AT ME!”

The man-child made a weird strangled noise of frustration. “Tomura Shigaraki” Kurogiri said. “Do not fret. Nomu’s attacks were successful; All Might clearly has weakened significantly. The children can’t help, reinforcements are still several minutes out, and our subordinates are waking up. We can still win.” Shigaraki stopped scratching. “You’re right…the big final boss is right there, and our strongest party member wore him down good. Let the small fry deal with the kids; we’ll kill All Might!” And with that, he rushed the weakened Symbol of Peace.

A pair of red eyes flashed.

And then Hojo dived in, delivering a powerful kick to Shigaraki’s shoulder, catching him off guard and throwing him back. “You FUCKING idiot! That’s now how video games work, moron!” the pink-suited boy seethed, stepping forward towards the surprised villain leader. “There’s no continues in real life. Your party has crumbled to the ground, you’re facing multiple minibosses of a similar level to yourself, your strongest member is gone, and the big boss can still take you.”

The brown-haired boy took another step forward, then hissed one more sentence at the villain leader.

“For you…it’s _GAME OVER_.”

And then a gunshot rang out, and Shigaraki recoiled in pain.

“Sorry we’re late, everyone” Principal Nezu said, riding on the shoulder of 1-B’s homeroom teacher, Vlad King, flanked by the other faculty of UA and one Tenya Iida. “Your Class Rep has returned…and I brought backup!” The pro leading the charge, a tall man wearing cowboy garb with a gas mask and a yellow and red scarf held up a green and blue handgun with two buttons on it, the word “STG” stenciled on the barrel, before shooting multiple shots towards the Mountain Zone.

The villain holding Kaminari hostage dropped the boy as the energy shots perforated his legs and shoulders, giving Yaoyorozu and Jiro the opportunity to rescue the boy. Present Mic stepped forward, unleashing a blast of sound to neutralize a large group of minor villains. Another hero, wearing a blue and white jumpsuit under a doctor’s coat and a surgical mask, pulled out a sword with a similar design to Snipe’s gun, and alongside King and multiple Ectoplasm clones, launched himself down the stairs to engage the minor villains.

“Dammit, it really is Game Over. Let’s go home and try ag-!” Shigaraki started, when the Shooting Hero shot multiple attacks through his legs and shoulder, as Kurogiri shrouded the man-child in a layer of fog. “We need someone who can neutralize the mist!” he said. Suddenly, the mist villain found himself being pulled apart by a strong suction force. “No…Black Hole!” he said, as Thirteen used her maximum output in an attempt to capture him.

“All Might…you may have won today…but your days are numbered. And one day, when your strength is finally gone, I WILL kill you!” Shigaraki hissed, as Kurigiri warped the duo away.

“Well, that was an interesting stage. This game is pretty fun after all!” the boy in the rafters said, before vanishing in a burst of red and blue pixels.

* * *

As Midoriya ran over to All Might, he started to shed tears of joy. “All Might! I’m so glad you’re okay!” The pro smiled as he began to shrink down into his Small Might form. “Thank you, Young Midoriya. If it hadn’t been for you and the others’ quick thinking, especially Young Hojo, who had the gall to attack a villain of Shigaraki’s caliber, I’d probably be dead right now.” Kirishima started to run towards them to see if they were okay, but Cementoss erected a wall at the last moment to keep All Might’s secret from getting out.

“Whew!” the two said simultaneously, before All Might looked to his successor. “I really am weakening though. I had to break my limits hard today; I’ll probably have an hour at most of hero time per day after this is over. Now that I’ve passed One For All on to you, I’m getting weaker every day.” Midoriya gasped at this statement. “No…you can’t be losing your strength that fast!”

“Uhhhhhh…I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to hear any of that” came a voice from the dust behind them, causing the duo to freak out. The dust cleared to reveal…one Kamen Rider Lazer, still lying on his side in his Level 2 form. “A bike…?” All Might wondered. “Hey Mido, c’mere and help me get back to normal” the bike continued. “K-K-Kujo? You’re a bike?!” “Just come here and close the lever in front of my saddle already!”

The Rider reverted back into his Level 1 form and detransformed, All Might spitting up blood in surprise. “What the fuck?! All Might? Are you okay?! I need first aid over here, stat!” the boy began to panic, much to the pro’s amusement. Hojo rounded the fountain, looking for Kujo’s voice. “Kiriya? I heard you – WHAT THE FUCK?! WHO’S THAT GUY?!” the gamer said, almost falling back in shock. “We’re really gonna have to tell them everything…” All Might muttered, Midoriya nodding in agreement. “And I want to know what’s with these two and their special suits…” the pro finished.

* * *

In an empty bar clear on the other side of Tokyo, Kurogiri’s warp opened again, spitting the injured Shigaraki out. “Dammit…we lost badly. We failed this quest; All Might hasn’t weakened a bit!” the man-child started to say, before a voice from a TV with the words “Sound Only” cut him off. “**_No…he’s definitely weaker.” _**Another voice asked a question. “_What about the Nomu? Why is he not with you?”_ “He was beaten by All Might, and we couldn’t track him down” Kurogiri responded.

“There were two hang-ups…one was a boy who had strength and speed just like All Might’s! The other was a boy who had a weird transformation with this special belt! They both prevented us from winning…and the second one had the gall to lecture ME on video games!” Tomura snapped, writhing in pain and anger on the floor. “**_Strength like All Might’s you say? And a transformation power? Which children were these?”_**

“Izuku Midoriya…and Emu Hojo.”

“**_Midoriya? Hojo? How interesting_**”

* * *

“…And what you’ve just heard must never be told to anyone else” All Might finished, as the two student riders sat in stunned silence in the nurse’s office of UA. “_Holy shit_.” Kujo said. “I knew that there had to be an incredible secret behind the Quirk of the Symbol of Peace, but a _transferrable power stockpiling ability_?! From any point of view, that’s insane” Hojo said, his mind running a million miles an hour.

“And Mido is next in line for this power, eh? Congratulations, I guess” Kujo said, walking over and ruffling the other boy’s hair. “You’re willing to keep our little secret, so we’ll gladly keep yours” Hojo said, bowing to All Might. “No, it’s nothing. I’ve known a couple of unofficially recognized Kamen Riders over the years; I know what the protocol is” All Might said, flashing a toothy smile.

“Now, the question is…why do you still have such problems controlling this Quirk?” Kujo asked. “The kid makes a good point” Recovery Girl said, walking over to the shrunken hero’s bedside. “Seems that Midoriya here can only handle about 5% of One For All right now.” “That little?!”

“Wait” Hojo said, scratching his head. “Maybe you’re thinking about this all wrong.” “What do you mean?” Midoriya asked, eyes widening. “You’re treating the activation of this power like flipping a switch, but that’s fundamentally wrong from the standpoint of Quirk use. A hero fanboy like you should know that” he said. “So, instead of concentrating all that power, why not let it flow more?”

“I’m still lost” the greenette said. “Ever played some of Genm Corp’s games? More specifically Gekitotsu Robots and Taddle Quest?” the gaming genius asked, Midoriya nodding in reply. “Right now, you’re concentrating everything in a single limb and hoping for the best – kinda like Gutton from Gekitotsu Robots. But you’d probably be better off if you thought like Alhambra from Taddle Quest and did what he does with his magic – spread it through your entire body. Your Quirk is fundamentally a part of you.”

“But it’s not my Quirk…I’m just borrowing it” Midoriya said. Hojo slapped his forehead at the ridiculously dumb statement from the ridiculously bright student in the hospital bed. “No! Not at all! You’re not ‘borrowing’ it; that makes the assumption that you’ll ‘give it back’ at some point. It was a gift to you – a lifetime gift, no return policy attached. It’s yours now as much as it was his” Kujo said, gesturing at the Symbol of Peace, who nodded in agreement. “It’s my power…let it flow through me…that’s it!” the green-haired boy said, having a sudden epiphany.

The others watched as he concentrated for a few moments, before a green glow surrounded the boy. Little flashes of green lightning sparked around him, as he kept his eyes closed in concentration…before it fizzled out. The boy opened his eyes again and smiled. “It’s not much…but it’s a start!”

As night fell, Recovery Girl discharged the boy, who exited the infirmary followed by his two friends. As they stepped outside of UA’s main building, Uraraka, Iida and Yaoyorozu greeted them, and the six friends walked down to the train station…unaware than a new trial was looming on the horizon.

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**Season 2 begins! The Sports Festival is just a week away! Can Midoriya gain a better handle on One For All in that time? And the Bugsters are back with a vengeance! Enter Snipe and Brave! See you next time!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
And with that, the USJ is wrapped up and we move forwards to the Sports Festival! I’ve been waiting a long time to do that arc, so I can promise you it’ll be well worth it! Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8: Level Up! The Power of Three!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bugsters are back with a vengeance only a day after the USJ! Also, the Sports Festival is only two weeks away!

**CHAPTER 8: LEVEL UP! THE POWER OF THREE!**

* * *

_The USJ incident, as it was nicknamed, was a wake-up call of sorts for both hero society and the heroics students of Japan. Although injuries were minor – Aizawa got away with minimal scarring on his face and a few broken ribs, Thirteen had some scars on her back, Nejire-chan had a concussion and a few broken bones, and Lemillion only had a cool scar on his chest – but the trials were only beginning for us…_

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia Opening 2 – Peace Sign**

** _Oh wo-oahhhh,_ **

** _Oh wo-oahhhh,_ **

** _Oh wo-oahhhh,_ **

** _Ohhhhhhhhhh~!_ **

** **

_Midoriya stands atop a building, watching All Might leap through the city. The title screen flashes, before Ex-Aid pops up, and the scene changes._

** **

** _Itsuka bokura no ue o suresure ni,_ ** ** _  
Toorisugite itta ano hikouki o;  
Fushigi na kurai ni oboeteru  
Imi mo nai noni naze ka._ **

** **

** _Fugainakute naita hi no yoru ni,_ ** ** _  
Tada tsuyoku naritai to negatteta;  
Sono tame ni hitsuyou na yuuki o  
Sagashi motomete ita._ **

** _  
_ ** _We see a brief montage of Uraraka, Kirishima, Midoriya, Bakugo, Iida, Todoroki, Hojo, Kujo and Kendo all training, before the scene shifts again._ ** _  
  
Zankoku na, unmei ga, sadamatteru; to shite  
Sore ga itsu no hi ka boku no mae ni arawareru to shite;_ **

** **

_The inside of CR is seen with Director Kagami, Poppy, Taiga/Snipe and Hiiro, with brief cuts to each of the Bugsters, ending with Graphite, Genm and Parado. The Level 3 Gashats fall across the screen as the scene changes._

** _  
Tada isshu,n kono isshun, iki ga dekiru nara;  
Dou demo ii to omoeta sono kokoro o!  
  
_ **

_Panning shots show all of 1-A and 1-B, including Parado, whose eyes flash red mimicking Emu’s, as the chorus starts._

** _  
Mou ichido  
Tooku e ike tooku e ike to;_ **

** **

_Todoroki creates a glacier as Midoriya crackles with green lightning. Shinso and Gentoku turn around threateningly; Iida and Kujo run alongside each other, and Hojo jumps offscreen._

** _  
Boku no naka de dareka ga utau,  
Doushiyou mo nai hodo netsuretsu ni!  
  
_ **

_. Tokage disassembles herself, Hatsume and Sento flash crazy smiles, Banjo erupts in flames, and Kendo swings her giant hands. Bakugo lets off several blasts, Honenuki softens the ground, and Uraraka lunges._

** _  
Itsudatte me o harashita kimi ga nido to,  
Kanashimanai you ni waraeru;  
Sonna hero ni naru tame no uta!_ **

** **

_All Might lands in the city, before turning around as the camera passes by some of the students from the different classes, in front of UA._

** _  
Saraba kakagero PEACE SIGN,  
Korogatte iku story o-!_ **

** **

_The cast poses in front of the stadium for the Sports Festival, as the title card flashes again._

* * *

Night falls on Musutafu, as a group of UA staff meets with a police official in a secret meeting regarding the League of Villains and the USJ Incident. “Our investigators are trying to learn everything we can about the League…but we’re not having any luck finding anything about Kurogiri or Tomura Shigaraki” the police representative, Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi stated to the heroes.

“So…we’ve got no leads then?” Vlad King said, arms folded. Another hero, Snipe, took his hat and mask off, revealing a man in his late 20s with a shock of white on the left side of his head of dark hair. “We’re going to need to track them down, and fast. I shot Shigaraki up pretty good, but when he heals up, he’ll probably pull a stunt like this again” the man said. “Agreed, Hanaya” another pro said.

All Might looked troubled, something picked up on by the principal. “Is something wrong, All Might?” the rodent asked. The blonde sighed. “The attack on the USJ was a tactically foolish move no sane adult would attempt. Shigaraki kept monologuing about how his Nomu was a pet of sorts perfect for killing me…and when his pet failed, he all but threw a tantrum. He had the personality of a spoiled brat.” Another pro, wearing a white doctor’s coat over a black and cyan bodysuit added his two cents. “So… a psychopathic man-child, if we’re being frank…but one with incredible power and charisma. No thank you.”

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, then continued. “We’ll expand our investigation of the League and continue searching for those who planned the attack.” Nezu looked to his papers, and chuckled. “A man-child, eh? In some ways, he’s like our students with the incredible potential he has…and like them, he too may have someone nurturing his malice and evil.” All Might stared in worry. “_I don’t even want to consider what that might mean…_”

On a rooftop overlooking the city of Musutafu, a tall, dark-haired boy – the same one who hid in the rafters of the USJ and watched the carnage unfold – stared out over the city. “Phase 1 is complete. It’s time to give the test players the power of Level 3” he said, before laughing. “This should make the game even more interesting, right, Graphite?”

The green dragon-man stood nearby, growling in frustration. “I don’t care about that part, Parado…why can’t we just infect all the humans and let Bugsters rule already?!” The boy – Parado – stood up to his full height. “Now, now, that wouldn’t be as much fun, would it?” he asked, before his face turned serious. “We’re doing it my way.”

“Suit yourself” Graphite grumbled, before tossing the black-and-purple gauntlet the black Ex-Aid had wielded the previous day to the boy. “Let’s have some fun…and see if they can really level up.”

* * *

The next morning, Midoriya woke up relatively late in the morning, since the students had been given the day off in the wake of the USJ Incident, which had become one of the two big news stories alongside a terrorist attack on the Ministry of Finance. The boy wandered out to his mother’s kitchen, scarfed down a bowl of rice pudding and drank his coffee while watching the morning hero news.

Then the young hero’s phone rang from an unfamiliar number. “Hello?” he said cautiously, as he picked up. “_Yo Mido! We’ve got a bit of a situation here; it’s a Bugster patient_” came Kiriya Kujo’s voice from the other end. “K-K-Kujo? How did you get this number?” “_Does it really matter? Anyway, in five minutes the Director will be opening a portal through your bedroom mirror. Hope you can make it!_” the other boy said, before hanging up, leaving the greenette with more questions than before.

As Midoriya stepped through the glass into CR, he looked around, wondering where everyone was, before turning around and looking out the window into the lower floor. “Down here!” Emu said, waving at the greenette. Kujo and Hojo stood with Poppy (in her Asuna disguise) and the Director, while two other individuals – a tall man with a white patch of hair and a shorter man wearing a blue shirt under his doctor’s coat – stood in one corner.

And on the bed, clearly in a visible amount of pain, lay one Mezo Shoji, all six arms and six and a half feet of him.

“Shoji!” Midoriya said, dashing down the stairs. “H-Hey. Midoriya, right?” the multi-armed boy asked. “What happened?” asked the green-haired boy. “Well…I was walking to the store to get groceries for my mother today, when I was suddenly overcome by pain and passed out. When I came to, I was here with Hojo and Kujo, who explained the whole ‘Bugster’ thing to me.”

“We had another little hang-up, which is part of why we called you” Kujo said, before stepping forward and showing a video of a sour-looking man wearing a black hoodie running with a small briefcase. “This man stole the Level 3 Gashats – these game cartridges we use – last night from Genm Corp’s headquarters” the boy said. We wanted you to help us look after Shoji, since you probably know him better than us. “I don’t…” Midoriya muttered. “Well, you can befriend each other then!”

“Anyway” said the tall doctor, looking at Midoriya before continuing. “We’re going to be performing the extraction procedure in a few moments. We’ll try to prevent it from hurting too much for you, Shoji.” Midoriya blinked for a few moments. “Who’s he?” “Oh come on, I teach you guys’ Quirk Control classes every Wednesday afternoon! Can’t you recognize one of your teachers out of costume, _hero otaku?_” the man asked.

“Wait…Snipe-sensei?” asked Midoriya. “What are you doing here?” The teacher smirked. “That’s the thing…I’m a pro hero, but I also have a side job as Taiga Hanaya, CR’s senior doctor…so let me demonstrate.” And with that, the man produced a belt like Kujo and Hojo’s and a navy-blue game cartridge. “**GAMER DRIVER!**” the belt announced, attaching itself to his waist. “Mission…Start.”

Taiga clicked the cartridge, and it lit up, navy blue pixels washing across the area. “**BANG BANG SHOOTING!**” The cartridge slotted into the Gamer Driver, and Hanaya smirked. “Henshin.” “**LET’S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHAT’CHA NAME? I’M A KAMEN RIDER!**” And with that, a white chibi-like armor surrounded the pro hero, as he transformed into Kamen Rider Snipe, Level 1!

“So cool~” both Kujo and Hojo trailed off, fanboying. “Jeez. They never get popping tired of seeing him transform like that…” Asuna said, shaking her head. “Fanboys” the other man rolled his eyes. Shoji lay in the bed, motionless for a few moments, when suddenly he began to twitch and spark with static. Then an orange-grey slime encased him, forming into a giant two-headed…octopus?

“**How fitting**” Snipe deadpanned. “**STAGE…SELECT!**” And with that, the Bugster and the Rider both vanished from CR in a burst of pixels. “What…just…happened?” Midoriya asked. “Oh that? That’s the digital pocket dimension feature of the Gamer Driver: Stage Select. Genm’s tech is really way ahead of its’ time” Hojo said casually, as the green-haired boy’s eyes glazed over. “We should probably get in there too.”

“Huh?” The two boys pulled out their Gamer Drivers and Gashats, clicking the cartridges. “**MIGHTY ACTION X!**” “**BAKUSOU BIKE!**” “HENSHIN!” “**GASHA-TO! LET’S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHAT’CHA NAME? I’M A KAMEN RIDER!**” And in a few swift movements and a flash of light, the duo transformed into Kamen Riders Ex-Aid and Lazer, Level 1! “**STAGE…SELECT!**”

The area pixelated again, as CR disappeared and was replaced by an abandoned quarry. The Level 1 Riders dashed into the fray to join Snipe, and with a quick combo attack, the giant octopus dissolved, releasing Shoji. “It’s not over yet” said the other doctor, who Midoriya had barely noticed back in CR. “Wh-what do you mean?” “Level 1 is ideal for separating a Bugster Union from its’ host…but the Union will reform as a smaller Bugster within a few moments.

And sure enough, as Midoriya dashed over to Shoji, a bunch of Bugster viruses began to pile onto each other, forming…two figures? Hojo smacked his head. “**Ugh, of course! The reason we had trouble identifying what strain he had was because he has two infections from the Collabos strain at the same time!**” The two Bugsters that formed looked almost the same – dark grey, with one eye each…and a Level 3 Gashat sticking out of their heads.

The two monsters shuddered before both mutating. One of them, which had a yellow-green Gashat in its’ head, mutated to be covered in little yellow speakers, while the other, which had a red cartridge, gained red armor and a large mechanical claw on one arm. The other doctor’s eyes widened. “Those are two of the missing Level 3 Gashats!” he said, gesturing to the Bugster’s heads.

“**SCORE!**” Kujo yelled, before dashing at the one covered in speakers, only for it to begin spitting a stream of musical notes at him. “**Shit, it’s the DoReMiFa Beat one!**” he shouted, before stopping to dance to the rhythm in order to avoid taking damage. The Bugster pixelated away just as he finished dancing to the rhythm. “**Dammit, it got away!**”

Snipe and Ex-Aid both got into fighting stances, facing down the other Collabos Bugster – the one with red armor. “**That’s the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat…**” Hanaya murmured. “**2 on 1? I like our odds.**” Then, a man wearing green and crimson robes stepped out from around a pile of rocks…the same sour-faced man who had stolen the Level 3 Gashats in the first place. “Now, now, I don’t think that’s a very fair fight” he said. “Let me join in on the fun…Taiga Hanaya.” “**How do you know my name?!**” Snipe asked.

“Oh, we go back a long way, you and I…so let’s reconnect, who don’t we?” the man said, raising the purple-and-black gauntlet up in front of him. “**Replicate**” he said, attaching it to his wrist.

“**Į̜̜̥̓͗̚͠N͖͝F͚̎E͍͐C͔̥̐̚T̪͕̪̩̯̍̃̚Ȋ̛̪̜͘͟O͓͆N̠͕̋̔! ****LET̻͛'͇͑͆͢S͇̈́ ̻̑GA̮̝̩̅̄̅M̢̤̌͘E͍̖̊̚!̨͍̽͞ ͇̏B̖̓Ȁ̝̜̜̿̽Ḑ̍ ̙̓̽͜G̜͝AM̠̼̯̿̑͑E͖̯̋͑!̮̈́ D̢̧̻͗͠E̥̞̐̈́AD̳̥͊̃ ̬̫̊̆G͍̣̎̚A̯͌̊̃͟ͅM̭̯̆̇Ę̛̫͎̈̋!͈̝̳̆̿̽ ̧͒W͉͉̤͐̈̈H̡̭̭͌̀͞Ä̳T̬̘̙̔̉̿'̟̯̒͝C͇̾H̺̥͓̉̈́͐A ̜̥̪͗̓͌N̰͓̮͋́͞A̰̗͉̽̃́M͈͉͍̋̈̋Ę̩̹̉͒́?**”

Green and red lightning swirled around the man as his figure shifted from something human into something…decidedly not.

“**THE ͓͌ B͚͕̪̓͋̚Ụ͇̱̋̿͌G̝̮̋̋Ś͍T̰̗̐̌E̡R͚͌!̺̍!̪̽!**”

To the horror of both the student riders and the pro one, the man transformed into none other than the Graphite Bugster from the USJ Incident. “**Graphite…!**” Hanaya growled at the sight of the Bugster that ruined his life, before opening his belt up. “**Tactics Level 2!**” “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! BANG BA-BANG! BANG BA-BANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING!**” his driver announced, as he shed his Level 1 armor and transformed into a sleeker navy-blue form with green highlights and a cape. "**I’ll end you now!**” “**GASHACON MAGNUM!**”

As Snipe engaged Graphite, jumping over a hill to a lower part of the quarry, the junior rider was left to deal with the Collabos alone. “**Dammit Emu, think! What could the other Bugster be trying to do to become complete?**” he wondered aloud, before suddenly stopping. “**Shoji!**” Midoriya looked up from the boy in question. “**What about Shoji?**” Kujo asked.

“**Think about it!**” Hojo said. “**In order to become complete, it’ll try to stress Shoji out!**” Midoriya looked down at the multi-armed boy in his hands. “Shoji…is there anything that may have been stressing you out recently?” The tall boy rubbed his eyes. “Well…I’ve been worried about my mom recently. Ever since dad vanished, she’s been working extra-hard to support us…” Midoriya looked up. “His mom!”

“**What about his mom?**” Kujo said, trying not to laugh despite his frustration. “No, I mean Shoji’s mother is his source of stress! He’s worried about her!” the greenette said, causing Hojo to pause in his pursuit of the red-armored Bugster. “**Of course! The Bugster will probably try to attack her!**” The tall boy started to groan in pain hearing that, the stress beginning to weaken his immune system.

“**So…we just have to defend his mother, right?**” Kujo said. “In that case, why don’t you and Hanaya-sensei handle this guy, while I go after the DoReMiFa Collabos!” “**Got it!**” Hojo flashed a thumbs up, before rushing towards the Gekitotsu Collabos, jumping over a swing by the red-armored Bugster, soaring over its’ head…and yanking the red Gashat out of the slot atop its’ cranium. “**Power up item…GET!**” the pink rider said, closing his driver and activating the Gashat.

“**GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!** **GASHA-TO!**” the driver and Gashat announced in tandem, as a small red robot with large gauntlets pixelated into existence. “**Dai-Dai-Dai…HENSHIN!**” Hojo said, spinning his arm and opening the driver back up. “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP, MIGHTY KICK, MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION – X!**” the belt announced, before the robot seemingly ate Ex-Aid, as it disassembled into a red robotic armor. “**A-GACCHA! BUTTOBASE! TOTSUGEKI! GEKITOTSU PUNCH! GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!**”

Ex-Aid was now wearing a red armor over his pink suit, complete with a red visor and a large gauntlet over his left arm. “**I’ll clear this with no continues!**” the rider said, swinging at the now unarmored Bugster, before removing the Gashat from his belt, blowing on it and slotting it into the side of his belt. “**KIMEWAZA! ROBOTS CRITICAL STRIKE!**” the Gashat announced, as Ex-Aid launched the gauntlet into the Bugster, driving it back into a cliff wall. He then raced towards the cliff, and swung his fist back into the gauntlet. A huge explosion emanated from the defeated Bugster, followed by a cheery tune. “**GAME CLEAR!**”

The pink Rider then turned towards Snipe and Graphite’s battle. “**You’re next…Graphite**” Ex-Aid said, stalking towards the dragon Bugster…

* * *

Miko Shoji was having a kind of terrible day, honestly. First, she was called in to work an early shift, and then her son Mezo had vanished at some point. Now she was searching a secluded park – her monster-like son’s favorite meditation spot – in an attempt to find him. Suddenly, a metallic monster covered in…speakers? Yeah, a monster covered in speakers appeared and started trying to attack her. So far, she had managed to hide well, keeping tabs on her pursuer by duplicating sensory organs on her fingertips.

Suddenly, a…robot of some sort appeared behind her pursuer and punched it, giving her a chance to move to another hiding spot. As she ran, however, a string of musical notes appeared from out of nowhere, grabbed her, and drug her back over towards her would be assailant.

“**Dammit, not now! I can’t fail here!**” the figure said, kicking the Bugster and forcing it to release Shoji’s mother. “Who…are you?” the woman asked. “I’m a Kamen Rider. I’m here to help” he responded. Suddenly, a girl appeared seemingly from out of nowhere and helped her to a nearby rock outcropping, while explaining to her that the Kamen Rider was fighting a virus…that had infected her son.

“Hey mom” Shoji said, lying on a nearby rock with a green-haired boy by his side. “M-M-Mezo?! Are you okay?!” Her son smiled with one of the mouths on his tentacles. “Not yet, mom. But soon…they’ll cure me” he said, pointing to the Kamen Rider and a figure in a lab coat.

“**K-K-Kagami-sensei? I can handle this!**” Kujo said, dodging a blast of musical notes. The other doctor shook his head. “No, you can’t. You’re only able to fight in Level 1, and your stats are too low to do much to this Bugster. I’m stepping in” he said, opening his coat to reveal a Gamer Driver of his own. Midoriya stared in surprise. “Hey…who is that guy?” he asked. “**Oh him? He’s Hiiro Kagami, senior CR doctor and pro hero**” Kujo said, skidding to a stop next to the boys. “Wait…Hiiro Kagami? As in THE Hiiro Kagami; the Medical Hero, Dr. Brave, who has saved thousands of lives over the past five years?” the boy asked in shock.

“**That’s the one. But he’s also the Avenging Knight of CR….**” Kujo said, as the senior doctor raised a cyan Gashat. “**TADDLE QUEST!**” “Proceeding with Level 2. Henshin.” “**GASHA-TO! GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**” The doctor slotted his Gashat into his driver and then opened it, bypassing Level 1 in favor of the increased power of Level 2. “**TADORU MEGURU, TADDLE MEGURU, TADDLE QUEST~!**” the best announced, as Kagami transformed into a white and cyan knight-themed rider. “**Kamen Rider Brave.**”

“**We will now begin the Bugster excision operation**” the suited pro said, summoning the blade he had wielded at the USJ Incident. “**GASHACON SWORD!**” The pro tapped the A button. “**KA-CHIN!**” the blade sang, as the Rider delivered multiple flaming slashes to the Collabos, dodging a string of musical notes. Brave tapped the A button again. “**KO-CHIN!**” A chill filled the air as the Rider delivered several slashes that quickly froze the Bugster in place. Brave casually plucked the Level 3 Gashat out of the Bugster’s head, causing the virus’s armor to dissolve.

“**The finisher**” Brave announced matter-of-factly, as he pressed the A button again, then tapped the B button several times. He then held the DoReMiFa Beat Gashat up and inserted it into the slot on his blade. “**KIMEWAZA! DOREMIFA CRITICAL FINISH!**” the Gashat announced, as Brave delivered a flaming slash resembling a G clef note to the Bugster; the virus detonating in a fiery explosion. “**KAISHIN NO IPPATSU!**”

A little tune filled the air. “**GAME CLEAR!**” Shoji sat up on the rock and looked at his six arms. “I…I feel perfectly fine now” he said from one of his mouths. Hojo and Hanaya appeared nearby, having forced Graphite into retreat. The younger of the two pulled a vaguely stethoscopic device off his shoulder and scanned Shoji. “You’re all clear” the boy smiled at his classmate. He turned to follow his mother home, the Shoji family reunited and in CR’s debt.

Lazer and Brave detransformed nearby, with Kujo walking over to Kagami. “Another job well done, eh, Kagami-sensei?” the teen said, clapping the older man on the shoulder. “I suppose so” Kagami responded, a ghost of a smile briefly lighting up his face. “Hiiro…I have bad news” Hanaya said, walking over to his junior. “We ran into Graphite.”

“So…that scaly bitch has reared his ugly head again” the younger hero growled. “Wait…who’s ‘Graphite’?” Midoriya asked. “Oh boy…remember the USJ Incident?” Hojo said, sighing as if this was going to be a long story. “Yeah. It was just yesterday, after all” Midoriya said. “Well…the green dragon-man who fought Aizawa-sensei and Togata-sempai was the Graphite Bugster, born from the data of the Genm Corp co-op game Drago Knight Hunter Z. As far as we’re aware, he’s the only complete Bugster remaining from Zero Day…and he was born from Saki Momose, Kagami-sensei’s girlfriend” Kujo said grimly.

Hanaya growled. “My loss to that bastard is the reason my medical license was revoked, and the reason Kagami went underground for a while after the incident. I still blame myself for being too weak to beat him.” Kagami shook his head. “I keep telling you that it isn’t all on you. The tech we had wasn’t good enough to keep up with a Bugster of his level, and you did your best” the junior doctor said, attempting to console his friend and colleague.

* * *

The next day, in school, Class 1-A had reconvened and were talking amongst themselves, mostly about the USJ Incident and the coverage of it. Class started as Aizawa, who looked surprisingly okay with only a couple bandages under his eyes and on one arm, walked in. “Morning class” the pro mumbled, clearly no less tired than usual despite his day of forced rest. “Aizawa-sensei, I’m glad you’re okay!” Iida shouted energetically, to the amusement of several of his classmates.

“My wellbeing is irrelevant. What’s more important is that your fight is not over yet” the tired man said, looks of shock spreading over the students’ faces. “Not over yet?” Bakugo wondered. “What does he mean?” Midoriya mumbled. “More bad guys?!” Mineta started to panic. Aizawa just stared at the class, then let a small smirk cross his face.

“The UA Sports Festival is just two weeks away.”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The Sports Festival is on the horizon! How will 1-A prepare? What is Uraraka’s motivation? And who is the next Bugster victim? Stay tuned for more!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
And with that, we’ve now got all four Riders (five if you count Genm) in the picture, as well as the Level 3 Gashats! Also, don’t think Shoji’s appearance is a one-time thing – he’s one of my favorite Hero Academia characters, and I want him to play a main character role going forward.
> 
> Also, new season/story arc means new opening! This fic is picking up steam pretty good – I’m hoping that eventually it’ll grow to the point where it makes the Fanfic Recommendations of MHA’s TVTropes page…but for now, I’m good with it being what it is.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9: Interlude!  Mental Health Counseling!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A declaration of war between classes! The Bugsters strike again! And mental health becomes important!

**CHAPTER 9: INTERLUDE! MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING!**

* * *

“My wellbeing is irrelevant. What’s more important is that your fight is not over yet” Aizawa stared at his class, then let a small smirk cross his face. “The UA Sports Festival is just two weeks away.”

* * *

**Cue My Hero Academia Opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

“YES! LET’S KICK SOME ASS!” Kirishima roared in excitement, as the other students jumped in surprise at both his outburst and their teacher’s menacing tone about something so…normal? “Woah, wait a minute” Kaminari said. “Is it really such a good idea to do this so soon after the USJ Incident?” Jiro nodded in agreement. “Couldn’t they attack us when we’re all in one place then?”

Aizawa coughed, then started again. “The administration wants to hold it despite all that, to send a message that everything’s fine to the public. Also, it’s the UA Sports Festival: the most watched sporting event in the world for the past 75 years running, having long since supplanted the Olympic Games. You only have three chances in a lifetime to participate, so make it count” the pro said, an edge of seriousness creeping back into his voice. “Now, on to our next order of business” he said, gesturing to the door as it opened.

A group of eight people walked into the room. One was a short, dark-haired woman wearing casual clothes and a pink bow in her hair, one was a tall bald man wearing Buddhist robes, one was a tall and effeminate bald man, one was a dark-haired man in a grey suit with a pompadour, one was a dark-haired woman wearing what appeared to be an interesting cultural mashup, one was a brown-haired man in a dark suit with a pink camera around his neck, one was a man with spiky dark hair and an aura of holiness around him, and the last was the pro hero Hound Dog.

“For the rest of today, excluding lunch, you will be excused from all your classes and be placed in therapy sessions in the wake of the USJ attack two days ago. You are all young and impressionable, and were put through a life-or-death situation that very few hero students have to go through this early in their careers” Aizawa said. “You’re all placed in groups based on where you were during the incident and have been assigned one of these counselors. Your parents have already given their blessings for these sessions, as all of them were contacted yesterday by Principal Nezu. Class dismissed.”

As he walked away, the pro looked back at his class. “_This will be good for both us and them. They need the therapy, and these specialists will be able to develop psych profiles for all of these students…and lord knows we need them; I need them_” he thought, before departing to the teacher’s lounge to sleep in the closet.

The man with the camera approached Hojo and Kujo. “’Sup, fuckos? The name’s Tsukasa Kadoya. C’mon, let’s go get MgRonald’s and talk about intense emotional trauma!” he said. “You make a very compelling offer, Kadoya. We’ll take it” Kujo grinned, before he and his friend departed the room with their therapist. “_Well, that happened_” Midoriya thought, before he, Asui and Uraraka turned to their assigned therapist, the man with the pompadour. “Nice to meet ya! I’m Gentaro Kisaragi, the man who will befriend a million people!” he said happily, before guiding all three of the confused students through a complicated secret handshake. “Let’s go!” he shouted, pointing to the door.

Todoroki looked up from his seat as the spiky-haired man gestured to them. “I am Souji Tendou. Come, let us walk the path of heaven elsewhere” he said. The bichromatic teen couldn’t help but follow him, feeling a warm, compelling aura from the man. “Huh? You want me to come with you? Don’t fuck with me, extra!” Bakugo said to the effeminate bald man…who immediately knocked the explosive blonde out with a quick chop to the neck and started ranting in French, his language clearly VERY colorful based on how heavily Aoyama was blushing. “So…manly” Kirishima said, eyes sparkling as he followed the man out of the room, Bakugo slung over one of the therapist’s shoulders.

Yaoyorozu, Jiro and Kaminari were approached by the shorter woman, who smiled at them. “Akiko Terui. Nice to meet you!” she said, before pulling a green slipper out of…somewhere and gesturing for them to follow her. They happily obliged, especially based on how adept her Slipper Fu was shown to be when Bakugo woke up again and she knocked him out with a well-placed slap from the item of footwear. The bald monk, meanwhile, gestured to Ojiro and Mineta to follow him, much to the small teen’s chagrin. “I’d hoped it’d be one of the girls…” The costumed woman took Koda, Aoyama and Tokoyami, and finally Hound Dog walked over to the large group from the stairwell. “Please follow me” the gruff pro said in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

* * *

At the nearest MgRonald’s, the two undercover Riders sat with their assigned therapist, eating the greasy fast food, venting their issues and exchanging stories…rather interesting ones at that. Kujo spit out his drink. “Wait, so you’re telling me you’re another Kamen Rider…one with a penchant for hopping dimensions and destroying worlds?” he asked incredulously.

The brown-haired therapist smirked and briefly revealed a small pink and white Driver in his coat. “I must say, it’s been interesting to see how the friends and allies I’ve made over the years have translated over to this world. Makes me wonder what the author has planned” he said. “What?” Hojo asked. “Oh, nothing. Anyway, I remember your adventures in the timeline I briefly got involved in. Hojo was a pediatrician and you were a coroner” he said, pointing at Kujo. He then checked his phone.

“Interesting. Based on what my colleagues are telling me, you two are probably the most normal members of your class mentally and are dealing with the least trauma after the USJ attack” Kadoya said, intrigued. “Thank goodness” Hojo said, sighing in relief. “Anyway, our therapy session is over now. Since you’ve eaten already, you’re free to head home if you want, or you can go do whatever on campus. I have some stuff to drop off with Aizawa, and then I’m hopping timelines again” the man said nonchalantly, as he stood up. Turning to walk away, he stopped and said one last thing.

“I can’t say much for fear of fucking up the space-time continuum…but keep a really close eye on Kuroto Dan.”

As a weird illusion appeared and then vanished, taking the world-hopping rider with it, Kujo turned to Hojo. “Well…that happened. C’mon, Emu, let’s hit the gym!” The duo left to train for the Sports Festival, leaving the fast food franchise behind them.

* * *

“Goddammit! I felt so useless again at the USJ, just like I did back then!” Kirishima bellowed, cracking the table in front of him as he slammed his fist down on it. “Dammit Shitty Hair, keep it down; I’m trying to sleep!” Bakugo bellowed, only to have a smack land on his head. “You utter nincompoop! Your friend here is having a bad flashback and all you can do it complain? Be supportive!” the bald man scolded. Bakugo growled. “Hey! Nobody hits me but my old lady!”

Oren Pierre Alfonzo saw his chance. “Oh? Do tell, Bakugo-chan” he said, holding the boy’s hand softly. “Tell me where all your anger began…”

Twenty minutes later, Kirishima stared wide-eyed as his friend finished recounting his old woman’s rather ‘heavy-handed’ parenting style, the indecisive bastards at the Quirk Counseling office and how half of them stroked his ego and told him he had an amazing Quirk for heroics, and how the other half told him he should give up on being a hero because an explosion Quirk was villainous in nature, and his many issues with Midoriya. “Holy shit, man” was all the spiky redhead could say.

“Well, Bakugo…where should I begin?” the bald ex-paratrooper said. “First off, I’m going to tell the Principal that I strongly suggest family counseling for you and your parents. I feel like your mother was far more physical than necessary when you were young and that made your worldview more violent than necessary” he said, as the blonde looked down almost shamefully. “However, on to the Quirk counseling office: they sound highly incompetent to the point of illegality and UA will most likely begin legal proceedings against them fairly soon. The Bakugo family will be asked to join the suit.”

The explosive boy lit up, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. “I can finally get back at those idiots who couldn’t make up their mind about me for so many years! Fuck yeah! Get fucked, incompetent extras!” he shouted in what was probably joy – nobody could ever really tell with him. The bald man sent a text off silently to the UA Principal about the proceedings and how an investigation may be necessary towards Aldera Middle School as well.

* * *

“…And I was so scared then! I thought I was going to die!” Uraraka said, crying. Asui hugged the gravity girl as she sobbed, remembering how Tomura Shigaraki had tried to disintegrate her. Midoriya looked down at the floor uncomfortably. “All I remember was that I had a vision of Uraraka turning to dust, and then I remember getting really angry…and then the next thing I knew, I was punching at that…that _bastard_” the greenette said, an uncharacteristic venom seeping into his voice as he spat the last word out.

Kisaragi nodded, before he noticed something. He took note of the way Midoriya and Uraraka would look at each other when the other wasn’t looking, and how Midoriya had reacted in what appeared to have been utter fury when he thought the gravity girl was going to die. “_Note to self: there’s definitely the makings of a strong romantic bond between these two students._” He smiled, and added a note to his pad of notepaper…

* * *

In the Lunch Rush Cafeteria, the group of friends from the two hero classes sat down at their usual table, with Midoriya bringing a new addition for one of the table’s two empty seats. “Hello everyone” Shoji said, sitting down at the end of the table with his lunch tray, beginning to eat with a mouth on one of his tentacles while talking through another. The 1-B students introduced themselves to the friendly masked boy, and soon the conversation switched to the Sports Festival.

“Man, I can’t believe it! I’ll be participating in THE Sports Festival like I always dreamed I would!” Tokage cheered, getting…very close to Midoriya in the process. “How’s your class taking the news?” asked Uraraka, taking a bite of her food. “It’s pretty normal for the most part” said Kendo, shrugging her shoulders. “The only people who are being weird are Monoma, who claims this is ‘1-B’s big opportunity to get back at 1-A’ and Tetsutetsu, who will probably issue a formal challenge or something within 24 hours.”

Midoriya laughed, before his memory jogged a bit. “Oh right, Uraraka, I wanted to ask you something” he said. The table reacted in several different ways; Tokage, Banjo and Honenuki developed almost teasing grins, Shoji, Yaoyorozu and Iida quirked their eyebrows, and Uraraka blushed. “A-Ask away, Deku” she stammered. “Why do you want to be a hero?”

The teasing trio blinked in confusion as Uraraka’s blush faded as quickly as it arrived. “O-Oh, I thought you were – nevermind! It may not be very noble…but I’m in it for the money” the girl said awkwardly. “Wait, really? You never struck me as that type, Urara” Tokage said in surprise. “But…why?” Yaoyorozu asked. “Well…my family owns a construction company, and I originally wanted to get licensed so that I could help my folks out with that…but now, I want to become a successful hero, and give my parents an easy life. Not very heroic compared to all of your goals, I guess.”

“Nonsense!” Iida said, starting to applaud. “I’m merely following my family’s tradition.” Midoriya nodded. “I’m just doing it because I’ve always wanted nothing more than to save lives.” “Same for me” Kendo agreed, with Shoji and Honenuki nodding with her. “My family talked me into it…” Yaoyorozu said almost…sadly. “I’m not good for anything other than punching things” Banjo shrugged. “I just wanted to be a great hero, that’s all” Tokage chirped, flashing a peace sign.

“Your goals are no less noble than the rest of us. If anything, you might be more heroic than half the people here; wanting to provide for others while saving people is one of the most heroic goals of all” Honenuki said. Uraraka started to tear up. “Thanks guys” she said.

Midoriya looked at his food and started to dig in…only to be interrupted by the world’s most distinctive laugh. “A HA HA HA HA!” All Might laughed, catching the others at the table off guard. “I’ve found you, Young Midoriya!” the blonde giant bellowed, before pulling a small lunchbox out of his suit and saying “LUNCH?” “Oh. S-Sure. See you guys later!” Midoriya said, picking his food up and following the pro. The others at the table looked at each other in confusion for a few moments, before Honenuki said “Well, that happened.”

Unbeknownst to them, a certain bichromatic student at a nearby table overheard the whole thing. “_Izuku Midoriya and All Might, eh?_” thought Shoto Todoroki.

“So, you really only have an hour left every day?” Midoriya asked the Symbol of Peace, as All Might brewed a cup of tea. The duo sat in the teacher’s lounge to discuss some important matter. “I-I’m sorry-!” the boy began, before his teacher started laughing…and spitting blood. “There’s no need to apologize; jeez, you really are like me! Anyway, have some tea…we need to talk about the Sports Festival”

“How well are you controlling One For All?” the man asked of his pupil. “I’m getting better at it; so far I can’t go above 5%, maybe 7% if I’m willing to be really sore. But I’m slowly getting a handle on spreading it through every cell in my body” the hero in training said. “Good…my days as the Symbol of Peace won’t last all that much longer. Soon I’ll have to retire…which is why I want this Sports Festival to be your grand debut! You need to look at the world, and say ‘my name is Izuku Midoriya, and I AM HERE!’”

* * *

“W-What’s with all these people?” Uraraka asked, as 1-A attempted to depart for the day, only to find themselves blocked in by a crowd of other students. “Idiots. They’re scouting out the competition” Bakugo said, as he walked to the door. “Outta the way, useless extras!” he said to the crowd, eliciting exasperated reactions from his own class.

Two tall individuals pushed their way through the crowd. One was an utterly exhausted-looking boy with wild purple hair and bags under his eyes. The other was an even taller mountain of a boy with dark hair and a goatee, who rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles menacingly. “Hey, hey, is everyone in 1-A an ass like this dude?” the shorter one asked. “It’s sad to see that the heroes of tomorrow are such egomaniacs” the taller one glowered.

“You have every right to get pissed off at him; just don’t take the class asshole as a representation of us” Kujo said to the crowd almost apologetically. “The Sports Festival is a second chance for those of us whose Quirks weren’t good for the entrance exam – not all Quirks work on robots, y’know” the purple-haired one said. The bearded one took over at this point. “Your own homeroom teacher, Eraserhead, is a prime example of this – he didn’t pass the entrance exam, but won the Sports Festival and transferred into the Hero Course…and when he was transferred _in_, someone else was transferred _out_. I think you get what I mean.”

“What about it, prick?” Bakugo retorted. “What the two of us are saying is that, while some others here are scouting the competition, we’re delivering a warning: if you don’t bring your very best, then you’ll be in General Studies before you can blink…and we’ll be very firmly seated where you used to be…” the tired one said. “Consider this a Declaration of War.”

“Tch. Whatever, extras…all that matters is that I’ll beat all of you and win the Sports Festival, because _Katsuki Bakugo doesn’t lose. To ANYONE_” the explosive blonde said, before pushing his way through the crowd. He quickly rounded a corner and vanished from sight. “Again, ignore him; he’s the class asshole” Kujo said, making his own exit, Hojo following him closely. The others breathed a sigh of relief as the Support, Business and General Studies students started to go their own ways.

“HEY!” roared a boy with grey hair and weird eyelashes. “MY NAME IS TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU! YOU’RE THE BADASSES WHO SURVIVED A REAL VILLAIN ATTACK, AND I’M CHALLENGING ALL OF YOU! YOU’D BETTER BRING YOUR BEST-!” The boy was cut off by a bunch of vines wrapping around him and dragging him back to the side of a serene-looking girl, the vines being her hair. “I must ask that you forgive Tetsutetsu of his rudeness; may the Lord absolve him of his sins. Amen” she said, to 1-A’s confusion.

Then a grey-eyed blonde stepped around the corner into the class. “So, this is the esteemed Class 1-A, who thinks they’re better than everyone? Well, news flash, fuckos! We in 1-B will-!” he began, before a chop to the back of the neck knocked him out. Kendo grabbed the unconscious boy by the collar. “Sorry about that. Monoma is always like this” she apologized sheepishly. “Well, I guess you did warn us at lunch that this would happen…” Yaoyorozu trailed off, earning a laugh from Tokage and Banjo. “Still…do your best. I know we will” the orangette said, before turning and walking away, still dragging her unconscious classmate.

* * *

As Midoriya walked home, ready to put himself through two weeks of intense training to master his new use of One For All, his phone rang. “_A call from Kujo?_” the boy wondered. “Hello?” “_Yo, Mido! We’ve got another Bugster case, and since you’re our new go-to man, we could use some help! Text me your location; the Director will teleport you here!_” The greenette hung up and sent his location, and a few moments later a portal formed in a nearby pond. Jumping through, the boy ended up in CR again, and looking out the window to the lower floor, he saw that the patient was…Present Mic?

“Mic-sensei!” The blonde pro stirred. “Hey little listener…” he muttered weakly. “He’s infected with another dual Collabos strain, based on our instruments” Kagami said, walking over from a terminal. “Given that we already procured DoReMiFa Beat and Gekitotsu Robots from curing Shoji, we should obtain the Giri Giri Chambara and Jet Combat Gashats by curing him” Taiga said, before looking to the pro.

“Hizashi…we’ll have you good as new before long. Have faith in Hiiro, the boys and I” he said, gripping his colleague’s hand. “Boys, are you ready for extraction?” Hojo and Kujo snapped to attention. “Got it, sensei!” The Rider quartet strapped their Gamer Drivers on. “Be ready to catch ‘Zashi once we get him out of Union State, Midoriya” Kagami said to the greenette.

“**MIGHTY ACTION X!**” “**TADDLE QUEST!**” “**BANG BANG SHOOTING!**” “**BAKUSOU BIKE!**” “I’ll change Mic-sensei’s fate with my own hands!” Hojo said, holding his Gashat by his right shoulder. “Beginning Bugster excision procedure” Kagami said. “Mission…Start” Hanaya said, holding his in front of him like a gun. “Now we’re revvin’up!” Kujo said, spinning around dramatically. “HENSHIN!” the quartet said, slotting the cartridges into their drivers. “**GASHA-TO! LET’S GAME! MECCHA GAME, MUCCHA GAME, WHAT’CHA NAME? I’M A KAMEN RIDER!**”

Flashes of pixels covered the writhing pro’s body, before a massive two-headed serpent made of grey-orange digital slime emerged from his body. “**Eugh, that’s one ugly fucker**” Lazer muttered. Snipe sighed. “**Normally I’d tell you to watch your language, but I have to agree with you here…that is, as you put it, one ugly fucker**.” “**Let’s take this somewhere else**” Ex-Aid said. “**STAGE…SELECT!**”

The inside of CR vanished as the Bugster, Riders and green-haired hero in training were transported to a rocky beach. “**Let’s clear this with no continues!**” the pink Rider said. “**Neither of them are running off this time!**” Brave said, summoning his sword to hack at the Union. Snipe broke open a metal barrel to reveal a magenta Energy Item, which he absorbed. “**DUPLICATE!**” The navy-blue Rider split into six copies, all of whom began to spin, forming an energy bullet and ramming the giant Bugster, destroying it immediately and dropping Present Mic to the ground, where Midoriya caught him.

“**Round 2!**” Lazer said, as the viruses coalesced into two Collabos Bugsters. One had an ornate grey armor, with a silver cape and a katana. The other had orange jet-themed armor with two machine guns and wings. “**I call dibs on Giri Giri Chambara**” Lazer said. “**I wanted Jet Combat anyway**” Snipe responded, as three of the four Riders opened their drivers. “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**”

“**MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION – X!**” Ex-Aid landed in his sleek pink Level 2 form, punching the orange Collabos. “**BANG BA-BANG! BANG BA-BANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING!**” Snipe entered Level 2 and backed Ex-Aid up, repeatedly shooting at the Collabos. “**TADARU MEGURU! TADDLE MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!**” Brave traded sword strikes with the Giri Giri Collabos, matching it blow for blow while Lazer tried to sneak in and steal its’ Gashat.

***Cue: Wish in the Dark – Kamen Rider Ex-Aid OST** *****

As Midoriya carried the pro hero away a safe distance, he was stopped…when from behind a boulder came the black Ex-Aid, while Graphite pixelated into existence nearby. “**We can’t have this stage end so quickly, now can we?**” the black rider said, before pulling out a lime-green Gashat and clicking it. “**SHAKARIKI SPORTS!**” the cartridge announced, as a green and pink BMX bike appeared and drove around the black rider, who closed his driver and placed the Gashat in the secondary transformation slot.

“**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MIGHTY ACTION – X! A-GACCHA! SHAKARIKI! SHAKARIKI! BAD BAD! SHAKA TO RIKI TO SHAKARIKI SPORTS!**” The bike attached itself to the black rider, granting him a pink and green bike helmet in addition to his armored shoulders. The rider removed one of the wheels from the bike and advanced towards the boy alongside Graphite.

“**Change of plans! Dai-dai-dai Henshin!**” Ex-Aid said, rushing towards the deadly duo, leaving Snipe to fight the Jet Collabos alone. “**GEKITOTSU ROBOTS! GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**” the pink rider, wearing his red Level 3 robot armor, landed in between the two groups and blocked an attack from his black counterpart. Brave, meanwhile, decided it was a good time to bust out a new trick.

“**DOREMIFA BEAT!**” The blue rider closed his driver and inserted the green Gashat as a small yellow robot with turntable arms and speaker legs soared around him. “**Proceeding with Level 3**.” “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! TADARU MEGURU! TADDLE MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST! A-GACHA! DO-DO-DO-RE-MI-FA! SO-LA-TI-DO! OK! DOREMIFA BEAT-!**” The support robot disassembled and reformed around the cyan rider, the turntables attaching to his arms, the speakers settling on his shoulders and a baseball cap clamping onto his forehead. He had become Kamen Rider Brave, Beat Quest Gamer Level 3!

“**Snipe! You know what to do!**” the cyan rider said, as he began driving the Giri Giri Collabos back to funky electronic beats emanating from his speakers...into the Jet Collabos. “**I like how you think, Brave!**” the elder rider said, tapping the A button on his Gashacon Magnum and inserting the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat. “**ZU-KYUN! KIMEWAZA! BANG BANG CRITICAL FINISH!**” At the same time, Brave removed the DoReMiFa Beat Gashat from his belt and inserted it into the side slot. “**KIMEWAZA! DOREMIFA CRITICAL STRIKE!**”

The two Bugsters were hit by a blast of magenta energy from one side and musical notes from the other, exploding immediately. Two Gashats, one pitch-black and one bright orange, flew out of the blast and were caught by Lazer and Snipe, respectively. “**Let’s kick this up a notch! Third gear!**” Lazer said, activating his new powerup. “**GIRI GIRI CHAMBARA!**” A small black and gold samurai-theme robot flew around the younger rider as he opened his driver up. “**Tactics Level 3**” Snipe said, activating his new Gashat and inserting it into his driver as a small orange robot flew around him. “**JET COMBAT!**”

“**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! BAKUSOU, DOKUSOU, GEKISOU, BOUSOU! BAKUSOU BIKE! A-GACCHA! GIRI, GIRI, GIRI, GIRI CHAMBARA!**” The samurai robot disassembled as Lazer’s Level 1 armor came off and reformed him into a golden-armored samurai warrior. “**GACHAN! LEVEL UP! BANG BA-BANG! BANG BA-BANG! YOW! BANG BANG SHOOTING! A-GACCHA! JET, JET, TO THE SKY! JET! JET! JET COMBAT!**” The yellow bangs of ‘hair’ on Snipe’s right eye lifted up as an orange visor covered his face, the Combat Gamer dropping over his body and its’ twin machine guns attaching to his arms. The two Level 3 riders raced over and to the new battleground and stood alongside the other two riders, ready to battle!

***Cue: Excite – Daichi Miura** *****

“**Let’s clear this with no continues and go home!**” Snipe said, stealing his junior rider’s catchphrase. The quartet charged forward and traded blows with their opponents, the black rider forced back by Lazer and Ex-Aid, while Brave and Snipe attacked the dragon Bugster. “**I tire of this meaningless battle. I’m ending this**” the black rider said, removing the green Gashat from his belt and activating his finisher. “Dragon Fang of Rage!” roared Graphite, spinning his weapon. “**KIMEWAZA! SHAKARIKI CRITICAL STRIKE!**” The black rider threw the flywheel from his bike while Graphite swung his blade, the two attacks throwing the riders back as Midoriya looked on in horror.

“_No…I can’t let them lose! Not here, not now!_” the boy thought, his legs moving before he could even think. “_Stay at five percent. Five percent…perfect!_” Green lightning began to crackle around him, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished. “**Mido, wait-!**” Lazer began…

And then the green-haired boy reappeared in front of the black rider, fist cocked back. “_FIVE PERCENT DETROIIIT SMAAAASSSH!_” Midoriya shouted, driving his fist into the side of the rider’s head. The reinforced alloy crumpled under the attack, cracks appearing in the rider’s faceplate as he soared back into a rock wall. At the same time, Present Mic sat up, looked at Graphite and took a deep breath, before blasting the dragon Bugster with a yell of “YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The two villains stumbled back, as the CR riders stood back up and removed the Gashats from their belts and slotted them into their weapons, including Lazer’s new sickle-bow cross, the Gashacon Sparrow. “**KIMEWAZA! GIRI GIRI DOREMIFA JET ROBOTS CRITICAL FINISH!**” Energy projections shaped like missiles, gears, musical notes and arrows across the battlefield. An enormous explosion rocked the virtual world, but when the smoke cleared the two villains had vanished.

The digital world pixelated back into the inside of CR as the Voice Hero clambered back to his feet. The riders de-transformed as Hanaya walked over to his colleague. “You’re all clear, Hizashi. Your Game Disease has been cured.” After Present Mic was sent home via mirror portal, Kujo and Hojo walked over to Midoriya. “Looks like you’re finally getting your power under control” Hojo noted, while Kujo grinned. “Thanks for the help, man! Those two really had us on the ropes for a minute!”

* * *

Shouta Aizawa sat in his office, looking over the mental health profiles sent by the counselors. “Hmmmmmmmmm…I may have issues in the future with this group, especially after the Sports Festival…” On the desk sat the sheaf of papers, all of which detailed his students’ mindsets, well-being, reaction to the USJ attack and possible issues.

_Group A. Counselor: Chiyoko Shiraishi_

  * _Yuga Aoyama: Has an overly showy personality to hide his insecurities. Was bullied for having a “weak Quirk” and being foreign during his youth. Somewhat disappointed in his performance during the USJ Incident._
  * _Koji Koda: Naturally quiet. Was rarely bullied by his peers earlier in life due to having a mundane but “cool” Quirk. Prefers animals to humans, no contest. Mother mysteriously disappeared three years ago; case abandoned by police._
  * _Fumikage Tokoyami: Is just kind of an edgelord. No real issues aside from Quirk control problems. Potential solution: extra Quirk control lessons with Snipe or All Might. Both Aoyama and Koda believe he did the most during the USJ Incident._

_Group B. Counselor: Oren Pierre Alfonzo_

  * _Katsuki Bakugo: Where to start? Family dynamic is dysfunctional; believes violence is the best way to reach understanding thanks to his mother. Has a Superiority-Inferiority Complex due to heavy-handed and conflicting statements from Quirk Counselors his entire life. Undisclosed issues with Izuku Midoriya. Family Therapy HEAVILY suggested._
  * _Eijiro Kirishima: Has low self-esteem thanks to his “boring” Quirk and a perceived uselessness after both the USJ Incident and a prior incident last year that almost convinced him not to apply to UA; Mina Ashido was involved._

_Group C. Counselor: Tsukasa Kadoya_

  * _Kiriya Kujo: Very laid-back; not easily shaken. Believes his USJ performance was sub-par but adequate. No mental issues. Used to protect Hojo from bullies during elementary school._
  * _Emu Hojo: Awkward and klutzy unless around Kiriya. May be slightly emotionally dependent on his longtime friend and former source of protection; otherwise fairly decent mentally. Video game nut. Family life nonexistent._

_Group D. Counselor: Onari Yamanouchi_

  * _Mashirao Ojiro: Not particularly affected by USJ Incident. Has somewhat of a greater respect for Minoru Mineta in the wake of the incident, given the other teen’s competency in battle. No noticeable mental issues._
  * _Minoru Mineta: A whole picnic basket of issues. Has body image issues and major problems with lecherous perversion stemming from an unstable home life. Suggested solutions: Meditation for his desires, referral to the Body Improvement Club for physical issues. Has an unhealthy obsession with Momo Yaoyorozu; his actual allegiances may lie with Tsuyu Asui, despite what he believes._

_Group E. Counselor: Akiko Terui_

  * _Kyoka Jiro: Deadpan snarker. Was somewhat traumatized by the USJ due to some threats made by the villains she fought (multiple had sexual assault or rape convictions). Speaking of sex and sexuality, still coming to terms with her bisexuality and attraction to both of her allies during the incident. I like this kid._
  * _Momo Yaoyorozu: Heiress of a major and successful tech company. Has deep-rooted anger and self-confidence issues stemming from an unknown source; she was unwilling to clarify. Still embarrassed about her costume; may require a major redesign. Refer her to the Support Department._
  * _Denki Kaminari: Pikachu. Has aloof, outgoing, playboy persona to hide his almost non-existent self-esteem. Believes himself nothing more than a liability and questions if he even belongs at UA half the time. Father was an electrician who disappeared; case abandoned by authorities. Further psychiatric treatment necessary. I’m worried about this kid._

_Group F. Counselor: Gentaro Kisaragi_

  * _Ochako Uraraka: A girl with a heart of iron. Is far stronger than she thinks she is. Some mental issues related to her meager upbringing; still bears no resentment towards those more fortunate than her given her friendship with Momo Yaoyorozu. Deeply traumatized by the USJ Incident; is justified in that she was almost killed by Tomura Shigaraki. Has a MAJOR attraction to Izuku Midoriya._
  * _Tsuyu Asui: A very blunt, but caring girl. Wasn’t too affected by the USJ; VERY strong-willed. Has developed a close friendship with Ochako Uraraka._
  * _Izuku Midoriya: A very special case. Has the heart of a hero, despite his self-destructive Quirk. No self-confidence at all due to years of bullying. Issues potentially connected to Katsuki Bakugo. Almost gave in to rage during USJ Incident in an attempt to prevent Ochako Uraraka from suffering at Tomura Shigaraki’s hands. Has a MAJOR attraction to Ochako Uraraka._

_Group G. Counselor: Souji Tendou_

  * _Shoto Todoroki: Disappointed in himself for his inaction during USJ Incident. VERY powerful. Complex involving the scar over his eye; an investigation into Endeavor’s home life is all but ordered._
  * _Tooru Hagakure: Peppy social butterfly to mask her deep-rooted issues with having never seen her face. Further therapy is advised for both her and Todoroki. _

_Group H. Counselor: Ryo Inou/Hound Dog_

  * _Mezo Shoji: Quiet, simple and friendly. No mental issues stemming from USJ; some stress in family life following the abandonment of his father’s missing person case by the authorities._
  * _Hanta Sero: A hero’s heart hidden under a plain face. No mental issues stemming from USJ Incident. Oddly enough, his mother is also missing with a case closed by the authorities._
  * _Rikido Sato: A simple-minded boy who loves his sugar. Mentally very stable and well-grounded. No trauma from USJ Incident._
  * _Tenya Iida: Youngest scion of Iida heroic family. Has some insecurities regarding living up to his brother Ingenium’s level of success in heroics. Feels like he abandoned his classmates to get backup; may require further therapy sessions._
  * _Mina Ashido: Peppy, outgoing and optimistic. Very brave and heroic. Has no trauma associated with the USJ attack or a prior incident last year involving a gigantic villain threatening her classmates. Only source of emotional pain is mother’s disappearance and lack of followup investigation._

The pro hero sighed. “Looks like I may have issues with hormonal teenagers soon, and I need to earmark a few for future therapy sessions” he said, taking an orange highlighter to Aoyama, Bakugo, Kirishima, Hojo, Iida, Mineta, Hagakure, Jiro, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Midoriya and Uraraka’s files, marking them for future therapy sessions. Then, the pro looked again, eyes widening as he read over the notes again. “Note to self: launch investigations into Endeavor’s home life, the Tsubasa Quirk Counseling Office, Aldera Middle School…and the disappearances of Kona Koda, Raiden Kaminari, Moku Shoji, Hana Sero and Miku Ashido” Aizawa said, getting an inexplicable bad feeling about all of these potential cases…

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The Sports Festival begins! Will Midoriya survive the obstacle course? Can ANYTHING stop Todoroki? And who will advance to the second round? Stay tuned!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
And it’s finally Sports Festival time! The Riders have all leveled up, and Midoriya has finally developed Full Cowl! The kids have had therapy…and new mysteries loom on the horizon.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10: Run, Students! Obstacle Course!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first round of the Sports Festival begins! Can Midoriya make it to round 2? And can anything hope to stop Todoroki?

**CHAPTER 10: RUN, STUDENTS! OBSTACLE COURSE!**

* * *

For two weeks, the hero trainees of 1-A and 1-B trained for the Sports Festival, pushing their bodies and mind to the limits in the same of friendly competition…and in seemingly no time at all, the Sports Festival had arrived. Midoriya and his mother Inko walked through the gates of the school towards the UA Sports Stadium.

“So mom, where will you be sitting?” the green-haired boy asked. His mother blushed for a moment, then answered. “I’ll…actually be up in the faculty box.” “What?” the boy asked, clearly stunned. “You see…I was invited here as a ‘plus one’ by a friend of mine – I see him at work every once in a while, and come to find out, he’s a teacher at UA – oh, here he comes now!” she said.

Midoriya turned to look where his mother was gesturing – and immediately did the mother of all double-takes. There, running towards them as best he could, was none other than All Might in his skinny form. “Izuku, I’d like you to meet my friend, Toshinori Yagi! Oh, but you probably already know him” the woman said in a very happy voice. “Good morning, Young Midoriya!” the older man said. “Wait…Young Midoriya?! Then…wait a minute…Inko is your mom?!” All Might stuttered, clearly as surprised as his student.

Midoriya gawked at the two of them. “Oh, we’d better go! Good luck, Izuku! Come on, Toshi!” the green-haired woman said happily, dragging the skinny blonde giant with her. Her son, meanwhile, was still in shock over his mother watching the Sports Festival in the faculty box with freaking _ALL MIGHT_.

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

In the 1-A locker room, the class was abuzz with excitement over their participation in their first-ever Sports Festival. As Midoriya laced up his red shoes, he was interrupted by a voice. “Midoriya” Todoroki said, walking over to the greenette. “O-Oh hey, Todoroki” Midoriya said to the bichromatic boy. Todoroki studied Midoriya for a few moments, before continuing. “From an objective standpoint, I’m stronger than you…but you’ve got All Might in your corner, helping you out.” Seeing the look of shock on the other teen’s face, he resumed. “I don’t really care what’s going on with you two, but know that I will beat you in the Festival today.” And with that, the bichromatic teen walked out. “We’re not here to be friends today…we’re here to kick each other’s asses.”

“Wait a minute, Todoroki” the greenette said, causing Todoroki to pause. “I get that you’re stronger than me – in fact, you’ve probably got a better handle on your powers than any other first year at UA. But that’s not going to stop me, or anyone else from aiming to win. So…I accept your challenge!” The other teen smirked slightly. “Fine by me.”

* * *

“**_HEY-O, ALL YOU SPORTS FANS, AND WELCOME TO THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!!_**” the Voice Hero shouted, eliciting a roar of excitement from the crowd. “**_I’M YOUR HOST, PRESENT MIC, AND JOINING ME ON COMMENTARY ARE ERASERHEAD AND INGENIUM! NOW, LET’S INTRODUCE THIS YEAR’S PARTICIPANTS!_**” The doors on the sides of the stadium opened as the first year students made their way to the field.

“**_FIRST UP IS THE CLASS THAT’S ALREADY FOUGHT VILLAINS! IT’S HERO COURSE 1-A!_**” the loud pro announced as the class in question made their way out into the arena. “**_AND JUST AS TALENTED, HERO CLASS 1-B!_**” Kendo and Tokage waved to the crowd as their class joined 1-A. “**_BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! HERE’S GENERAL STUDIES CLASSES C, D AND E! SUPPORT COURSES F, G AND H! AND THE BUSINESS COURSE, 1-I! GIVE THEM ALL A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!_**”

At the head of the General Studies courses walked the duo that had challenged 1-A a week earlier. The Support classes were lead by a pinkette wearing multiple crazy gizmos and a dark-haired teen wearing mismatched red and blue sneakers with his gym uniform. Finally, a brunette boy and a dark-haired girl wearing a star-print baseball cap and a pair of headphones walked in front of the Business class. The girl noticed Hojo and scowled at him.

“**_AND NOW INTRODUCING THIS YEAR’S REFEREE: THE RATED-R HERO, MIDNIGHT_**_!_”

The…very buxom woman in question stood atop a stage on one side of the field, inducing blushes among both students and spectators alike with her…movements. “SILENCE, EVERYONE!” the woman shouted, quieting everyone down. “LEADING THIS YEAR’S PLEDGE IS KATSUKI BAKUGO!” The explosive blonde made his way up to the stage, and after a few moments spoke into the microphone.

“I pledge…that I’m going to win. So y’all extras had better get ready to be stepping stones in my path to victory” he said. All of 1-A collectively facepalmed in unison as the rest of the students booed him like mad, the boy in question walking off the stage without a care in the world.

"It's time for the first event: a four-kilometer obstacle course! All the classes will participate in this qualifier round." Midnight announced, before licking her lips. "I don't want to limit anyone too much...so as long as you stay on the track, anything goes!"

The students crowded around the West Gate, ready for the race to begin. “_I don’t know if I have too good a handle on using One For All yet…but I’ll do my best! Mom, All Might…I hope you guys are watching!_” Midoriya thought as the timer started counting down. “_Tensei…please watch me!_” Iida looked towards the commentary box where his brother sat. “_I refuse to lose!_” thought Uraraka.

“BEGIN!”

***Cue My Hero Academia OST – Jet Set Run** *****

The students charged forward towards the narrow gateway with a roar of determination, every one of the gunning to win. “**_AAAAAAND THEY’RE OFF, FOLKS! HOW ABOUT SOME COMMENTARY FROM YOU TWO?_**” Present Mic shouted. “**_I can’t believe you actually talked me into this_**” Aizawa muttered. Ingenium just laughed. “**_ANYTHING YOU TWO THINK WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO AT THIS STAGE OF THE RACE?_**” Ingenium’s eyes narrowed. “**_That gateway. It’s a natural pinch-point. Also, probably whatever that student is doing_**.”

The students all pushed against each other, squashed together in the narrow tunnel. Midoriya felt a sudden chill go down his spine and jumped, narrowly avoiding being stuck in place by the wave of ice Todoroki generated, the cool air exploding out of the doorway and freezing the course in front of the stadium. “**_LOOK AT THE SHEER POWER ON DISPLAY HERE BY 1-A’S TODOROKI! AND SPEAKING OF 1-A, LOOK AT WHAT HOJO IS DOING!_**”

While the students all attempted to fight their way through the tunnel, Hojo ran off to one side and took a mighty leap, landing between two sections of the crowd. He proceeded to hopscotch his way up the side of the stadium until he got just under the giant canopy section built around the upper edge…and after crouching down for a moment, leaped higher than anyone had ever seen him jump.

The boy’s eyes flashed red as he slid down the canopy towards the outside and off the edge, kicking off the side of the building just above where the ice formed and baseball sliding down the pathway. “**_AND JUST LIKE THAT, HOJO SLIDES INTO SECOND PLACE BEHIND TODOROKI!_**” The other students broke free quickly, with Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Banjo, Bakugo and Shiozaki escaping easily. Midoriya charged 5% of One For All through his body and took off as best he could on the ice, before the students encountered the first obstacle. “_One For All: Full Cowl!_”

As Todoroki ran along, the other students did their best to get past his icy path without having a nasty fall. Ashido and the brunette boy from the Business Course both created liquid from the soles of their feet to slide more manageably along the ice, while most others floundered.

_Mina Ashido. Her Quirk: Acid! She can make acid of varying viscosity and strengths from the palms of her hands and soles of her feet!_

_Kazumi Sawatari. His Quirk: Grease! He can secrete grease of various thickness, slipperiness and flammability from his hands and feet!_

Mineta approached the boy in the lead rapidly, using his sticky balls to avoid the ice altogether. The boy began to gloat as he neared the front of the pack. “Nice try, Todoroki, but you messed up when you forgot about me and my abilities, and now I’ve got you! Now take my special attack: GRAPE RU-!” he began, before a metal arm smacked him out of midair and into the barrier wall, knocking him out.

“**_IIIIIIIT’S THE ROBO INFERNO!!!!_**”

The path was guarded by droves of the One, Two and Three-Point robots from the entrance exam…as well as over a dozen Zero-Pointers, all glaring down with lifeless red camera eyes at the students below them. “A-A-Are those the Zero-Pointers from the entrance exam?!” Kaminari asked, clearly panicking. “Where the hell does the school even get the funding for these?!” Yaoyorozu wondered, unzipping her jacket.

Todoroki glared back at the robots. “So these are the Zero-Pointers the non-recommendation students had to face. I’m impressed, but I wish that they would be harder to beat” he said as one reached towards him. “Especially since daddy dearest is watching.” With that, the temperature dropped dramatically as the boy unleashed a wave of ice that immediately froze three Zero-Pointers dead in their tracks, before running between the legs of one. “Look! An opening!” a General Studies kid shouted. “Hey now, be careful…I froze them while they were off balance” the bichromatic boy said, as the unstable robots fell behind him, the shockwave being felt even in the stadium.

The other robots redoubled their attacks on the students, Midoriya activating Full Cowling again and shooting into the wave of oncoming enemies. Taking aim at several One-Pointers, he cocked all his fingers on his right hand back, charging an attack. “_I haven’t had much time to practice with Full Cowl, since I only just got the whole ‘maintaining five percent’ thing down a few days ago…but I’m good at thinking on my feet!_” he thought, before letting loose. “FOUR STARS OF HEAVEN…DELAWAAAAARE SMASH!” he roared, unleashing four air bullets at once, the winds from the attack blowing the robots back, smashing them to bits. “Well done, Young Midoriya!” All Might shouted, impressed. “My baby’s getting so strong…” Inko looked like she was about to start crying.

“Like hell these scrap heaps will slow me down!” Bakugo shouted, launching himself into the air and up to one Zero-Pointer’s head with several smaller explosions, landing atop the mech. “Forgive us if we’re following along with your well-planned advance” Tokoyami said, as Dark Shadow hauled him up to the top of the robot’s head. “Tch. Now y’all are following my lead?” Bakugo said, irritation in his voice. “What can I say? Not our fault you’ve got good ideas” Sero said, reeling himself in with his tape.

Meanwhile, Midoriya battled through rows of bots, shredding them with hard, well-placed strikes enhanced by One For All. Kaminari electrocuted several robots, using his Quirk more cautiously than usual. Jiro drove her earphone jacks into a few more bots and deactivated them with sonic attacks, and ahead of them, the Zero-Pointers…exploded?

Sure enough, Yaoyorozu had created a cannon with her Quirk and was tearing through the giant enemies like they were made of paper. Banjo, meanwhile, had launched himself through the air, streams of fire trailing behind him. “_I won’t let Todoroki’s ice show my fire up that easily!_” Banjo thought as he soared higher. “Right now…there’s no way I can lose!” he shouted, before his fist caught fire and he delivered a massive uppercut, melting the head of the robot. “**_AND TWO RECOMMENDATION STUDENTS SHOW OFF THEIR STUFF, AS 1-A’S MOMO YAOYOROZU AND 1-B’S RYUGA BANJO TEAR THE ROBO INFERNOS APART!_**”

_Ryuga Banjo. His Quirk: Burning Boxer! He can create and absorb fire to augment his attacks and defenses!_

“No, Izuku, baby, run away! Save yourself!” Inko cried, water streaming from her eyes. “Are you okay?” Hanaya muttered nearby, while Kagami rolled his eyes. “Young Midoriya won’t give in; his heroic heart motivates him to fight on even when the odds are against him” All Might said, taking Inko’s hand in his. “That’s why he’s a true hero in the making.” The woman only began crying harder at that. “I’ll get the mop” Power Loader said, excusing himself. “Thank you, Majima” All Might said gratefully.

Several students stared at one of the robots Todoroki had frozen, its’ icy carcass lying on the ground. “Didn’t that fall on someone?” a student asked. Then, the metal of the robot buckled and Kirishima burst out of its’ remains. “I’M ALIVE!” he shouted triumphantly. “**_1-A’S KIRISHIMA IS UNBREAKABLE! HE’S LIKE THE ULTIMATE SPEAR AND ULTIMATE SHIELD!_**” “Dammit Todoroki! Anyone else would have died!” Kirishima cursed, throwing a glare in the general direction of the bichromatic boy.

A nearby section of robot buckled. “What an asshole that 1-A guy is! Anyone else would have died!” Tetsutetsu shouted, cracking his neck. “**_1-B’S TETSUTETSU IS UNBREAKABLE! HE’S LIKE THE ULTIMATE SPEAR AND ULTIMATE SHIELD!_**” “**_Didn’t you just say that about-!_**” Aizawa began, before Mic cut him off. “**_THEY’RE SO SIMILAR!_**”

As the other students carved a path through the robots, Midoriya raced ahead like a bolt of green lightning…almost failing to stop in time as the ground disappeared beneath him. “W-What the fuuuuuuu-!” the boy began, teetering on the edge. The next two hundred meters was a maze of pillars surrounded on all sides by an impossibly deep pit, thin cables snaking between them. Ahead of him, Bakugo blasted over the obstacle, while Todoroki slid along a cable with his ice and Asui clambered along a cable like it was second nature for her.

“**_IT’S THE FALL! FALL IN AND YOU’RE OUT!_**”

“Heh heh heh…this is perfect!” a voice came from behind him, looking back, he saw a pinkette covered in support gadgets gloating to herself. “Time for us support students to show what we can do, right Sen?” she said to the boy next to her, a dark-haired boy with mismatched red and blue shoes. “This is awesome” he said, a section of his hair sticking up at an odd angle. “Let’s go, Mei!”

The girl shot a long grappling hook out all the way to the other side of the obstacle, while the boy next to her produced two small objects and attached them to adaptors above his shoes, the devices unfolding into a red boot with springs on the side, and a blue shoe with tank treads on the bottom. “Shine, my cute babies!” the girl yelled. “Now...let’s begin the experiment” the boy said.

The two both rushed forward and jumped, the girl soaring into the pit…and as her rope reeled her in, she shot upwards, clearing the obstacle. The boy took an inhumanly huge leap with his red boot, before landing on a line with his blue boot and moving forward, the tank treads carrying him along the line. Eventually he fell off another cliff, only to bring out…an umbrella gauntlet? No, it was a helicopter motor, which carried him up and out of the pit, clearing the obstacle.

“So unfair!” Ashido pouted. “Unfair? Not really. Us Support students, since we often have weak Quirks but technological brilliance, are allowed to bring anything we invent into the Sports Festival. It’s only fair” said a tall, dark-haired boy with glasses and a…tablet computer? “Well, I’d better follow them. I have data to collect on their performance after all.” Rockets in his boots activated, and he was gone in an instant.

“I know Tensei is watching…so I’d better not make myself look like a fool!” Iida said, using his engines to move while balancing on a cable. “**_Jeez Tenya, you look like a dork_**” Ingenium snorted in the commentary box. “I can’t lose here!” Midoriya yelled, before charging up Full Cowl and jumping across the obstacles, a piece of metal from one of the robots strapped to his back. “Interesting…” chuckled the purple-haired General Education student, catching up to his tall partner. “So far so good, Young Midoriya” All Might said, grinning at the sight of his pupil mastering his power.

Todoroki came to a sudden stop, seeing a peaceful field of dirt in front of him…too peaceful. “Why are you stopping, man?” a General Studies student asked, stepping onto the field. Todoroki’s eyes widened when he heard a very distinctive “click”. “No, wait-!” he began, as a massive pink blast erupted in front of him, the hapless student flying backwards, knocked out. “Shit, there’s mines!” he shouted.

“**_THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S THE FINAL OBSTACLE: THE MINEFIELD!_**” Mic roared. “**_Please note that, while the mines are rather scary, they’re harmless; just a blast of heat, light, pink dye and baby powder_**” Ingenium explained. “**_Looks like the competition is heating up a bit_**” Aizawa said, as the cameras focused on the bichromatic boy in the front.

Todoroki carefully crossed the minefield, avoiding the telltale round patches of disturbed earth where the mines were buried, when suddenly, like an angry rocket, Bakugo caught up to him. “I got you, Icy Hot! Next time you declare war, make sure it’s actually to the strongest person in the class!” he bellowed, aiming an explosion at the bichromatic boy. Iida and Kiriya raced across the minefield, while Shiozaki used her vines to disarm any explosives in her path, gliding across the battlefield as an untouched symbol of purity.

Midoriya finally reached the minefield and cursed at how far behind he’d fallen. “_I spent too much time crossing the pitfall; I need to get creative_” the boy thought, as he began to dig mines up, using his piece of robot armor as a makeshift shovel, gathering a pile of them in one place, while other students passed him by. “_What the heck are you doing, Midoriya?_” Jiro wondered, running by. The greenette gathered a pile of mines and, holding the piece of robot in front of him, jumped on them.

As Bakugo and Todoroki drew closer to the end of the minefield, a massive explosion shook the stadium, heat and a cloud of pink powder rapidly expanding to cover the back half of the obstacle. “**_That’s definitely bigger than the mine blasts were supposed to be_**” Ingenium noted. As the other students shielded themselves from the blast, Midoriya shot out of the cloud of pink on his makeshift shield, to the surprise of everyone else. “YES! That’s it, Young Midoriya!” All Might roared, almost shifting into his muscle form in excitement. “Izuku, my precious baby boy…I’m so proud of you!” Inko began to cry again, much to the chagrin of Taiga, Power Loader and Hiiro. “_Holy shit kid, you might be the craziest One For All holder to date – and we’re a damn crazy bunch!_” the voice in his head shouted in glee. “_Wait, you…what? Nevermind, we’ll talk later_” the boy thought, focusing on the course again.

As Midoriya shot past a now-irate Bakugo and Todoroki, who smoldered in cold fury at being overtaken, the boy began to panic. “_Crap crap crap crap, how will I land?!_” “DEKU, YOU BASTARD! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, GETTING IN MY WAY!” Bakugo roared, shooting forward, dragging Todoroki on a trail of ice. As the two unlikely allies rushed forward, Midoriya spun around on his shield. “_I’ve only got one shot at this…so here goes nothing!_” Bringing two of his fingers back on each hand and channeling a hair under 6% of One For All into them, his fingers crackling with green lightning.

“TWIN JET DELAWAAARE SMASH!” he yelled, shooting two small blasts of highly-focused air pressure, the force propelling him forward in a perfectly straight line. Rolling in midair, the boy landed just outside the entrance to the stadium and ran like mad through the tunnel. “**_AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! THE WINNER OF THE FIRST EVENT OF THIS YEAR’S SPORTS FESTIVAL IS NONE OTHER THAN IZUKU MIDORIYA!_**” Present Mic bellowed, as the greenette crossed the finish line and enerted the stadium, confetti raining on him in the spring sunshine.

“YES!” All Might shouted in joy, transforming into his muscle form. Fortunately for the Symbol of Peace, his green-haired companion had already passed out in joy after seeing her son win. Outside, Death Arms and Kamui Woods did a double-take seeing the boy from the sludge villain incident winning the first round of the Sports Festival. In a darkened bar, Tomura Shigaraki scratched his neck at the sight.

And in a secret lair somewhere, hooked up to multiple life-support machines, an ancient supervillain grinned, his interest piqued by the green-haired boy.

After the other students had finished the race, Midnight strutted up onto the stage again. “Well then, now that the race has ended, let’s see the results.” The board displayed the following stats:

1st Place – Izuku Midoriya, 1-A

2nd Place – Shoto Todoroki, 1-A

3rd Place – Katsuki Bakugo, 1-A

4th Place – Momo Yaoyorozu, 1-A

5th Place – Juzo Honenuki, 1-B

6th Place – Ibara Shiozaki, 1-B

7th Place – Ryuga Banjo, 1-B

8th Place – Tenya Iida, 1-A

9th Place – Parado Doxx, 1-B

10th Place – Kiriya Kujo, 1-A

11th Place – Setsuna Tokage, 1-B

12th Place – Emu Hojo, 1-A

13th Place – Fumikage Tokoyami, 1-A

14th Place – Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, 1-B

15th Place – Eijiro Kirishima, 1-A

16th Place – Ochako Uraraka, 1-A

17th Place – Mashirao Ojiro, 1-A

18th Place – Gentoku Himuro, 1-C

19th Place – Tsuyu Asui, 1-A

20th Place – Mina Ashido, 1-A

21st Place – Mezo Shoji, 1-A

22nd Place – Hanta Sero, 1-A

23rd Place – Kyoka Jiro, 1-A

24th Place – Sen Kaibara, 1-B

25th Place – Hitoshi Shinso, 1-C

26th Place – Itsuka Kendo, 1-B

27th Place – Jurota Shishida, 1-B

28th Place – Shihai Kuroiro, 1-B

29th Place – Yosetsu Awase, 1-B

30th Place – Reiko Yanagi, 1-B

31st Place – Togaru Kamakiri, 1-B

32nd Place – Yui Kodai, 1-B

33rd Place – Kinoko Komori, 1-B

34th Place – Nirengeki Shoda, 1-B

35th Place – Kazumi Sawatari, 1-I

36th Place – Pony Tsunotori, 1-B

37th Place – Kosei Tsuburaba, 1-B

38th place – Hiryu Rin, 1-B

39th Place – Kojiro Bondo, 1-B

40th Place – Denki Kaminari, 1-A

41st Place – Neito Monoma, 1-B

42nd Place – Mei Hatsume, 1-H

43rd Place – Sento Kiryu, 1-H

44th Place – Manga Fukidashi, 1-B

The last student to qualify was a short boy with a speech bubble for a head, which read “_Thank god I made it!_” on it. “Only the top 44 students will advance, so if you placed 45th or below, better luck next time!” Midnight shouted cheerfully, as the disgruntled Business Course student who placed 45th glared one last time at Hojo, before flipping her long, dark hair and walking away. “Man, Saiba sure is mad this time…” the Business Course boy who placed 35th said.

“Noooooooooo! Now they won’t see my twinkle in the next round~” Aoyama lamented, his twinkling somewhat dulled by his 50th place. “Man…I really am useless without sugar” Sato said from 47th. Koda was 49th and more than happy to not have to participate. Mineta was still recovering from a knock to the head from a robot, so he couldn’t voice his displeasure. “Oh man, now nobody will notice me at all!” Hagakure moaned, Todoroki patting her on the back to comfort her.

“Don’t worry if you didn’t move on…you’ll have plenty of other opportunities to shine. But now, let’s see what the next event is!” Midnight said, cracking her whip. “Ooooh, the suspense is killing me~” she said, as the hologram displayed a spinning selection of possible events. The wheel came to a stop, landing on…

“An all-terrain labyrinth Cavalry Battle!”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The Cavalry Battle commences! What does “all-terrain labyrinth” mean? Can Team Midoriya survive this round? And how the teams come together? Stay tuned for more!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
The Obstacle Course is over! If you look closely, you’ll see a couple characters who will become important very soon! Also, I think you’ll all enjoy how I spice up the cavalry battle with its’ extra stipulation! Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11: Round Two! All-Terrain Mayhem!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second round begins, and it's an all-terrain Cavalry Battle - in a labyrinth! Can Team Midoriya beat the odds and hold on to their ten million points? Why is Todoroki so cold? And who will advance to the final round?

**CHAPTER 11: ROUND TWO! ALL-TERRAIN MAYHEM!**

* * *

“The next event is an all-terrain cavalry battle…set in a labyrinth!” the risqué pro announced, cracking her whip. “’All-terrain?’ What does that mean?” Uraraka wondered. “So it’s a team event…” the purple-haired boy said. “Oh great, something complicated” Kaminari muttered. “_Time for the next trial to begin…_” Midoriya thought, before glancing to the faculty box. “_I’ll overcome this too…I have to tell the world that I AM HERE._”

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

“Allow me to explain” Midnight said, pointing to the screen. “The participants will form eleven teams of four, then start in some part of the arena, which will be reformatted for this game. In theory, it’s the same as the playground game…but there’s a few added twists” she added, licking her lips. “Each player is assigned a point value based on their placement in the race. 44th is worth five points, 43rd, worth ten, and so on…”

“Except for first place, who is worth TEN MILLION POINTS.”

Immediately, everyone’s heads snapped around to stare at Midoriya. “_Oh…Oh crap! I’ve painted a huge target on my back!_” “That’s right…it’s the perfect chance for those at the bottom to eliminate those at the top!” Midnight said, a look of abject glee on her face. “But wait, there’s more! Let me introduce to you some special guests!” The pro pointed to a group of other pro heroes. Notable among them were Cementoss, Power Loader, Kamui Woods, and Pixie-Bob of the rescue team Wild Wild Pussycats. The pros waved, before Midnight continued.

“The first twist is the setting!” A map appeared of the stadium on a hologram screen, showing a large maze inside the arena. Several sections of the maze were open spaces, with one containing a small lake and an island, another with a forest, another with an icy mountain, another with a cityscape, another with a burning village, and one more with a bunch of steaming geysers. “The arena will be reformatted to suit the purposes of this exercise. Let’s make this playing field a little bigger, why don’t we?”

With that, the entire stadium split apart along certain dividers, the stands moving along underground rails as more barriers rose up to keep the arena’s edge continuous. When it stopped moving, the pros got to work reconfiguring the field for the exercise, the students, spectators and even some faculty in awe. “Holy shit” Hanaya said in the faculty box, clearly surprised.

“This cavalry battle will take place in a constantly-shifting maze built around multiple hazardous zones, full of dangerous faux villains in addition to other teams. The headbands of other teams will have point values written on them; collect enough points from headbands and you’ll advance to the next round” Midnight said. “This is to see how well you handle coordination within a team during a constantly developing scenario.” Awase in 1-B cracked his knuckles. “Great! Who wants to team up?” he asked, before getting a chill down his spine from how Midnight looked at him.

“One more thing: you won’t decide your teams. Those will be selected at random; you’ll have to prove your teamwork skills are good enough to collaborate with unfamiliar allies to deal with a crisis~” the pro said, as looks of horror spread across the faces of the students. “Now, without further ado, the teams for this round!” she said, pointing to the screen as it ran through possible combinations before selecting the teams.

Team Midoriya (10,000,550): Izuku Midoriya, Momo Yaoyorozu, Kiriya Kujo, Setsuna Tokage

Team Bakugo (720): Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki, Eijiro Kirishima, Ochako Uraraka

Team Kendo (670): Itsuka Kendo, Ryuga Banjo, Tenya Iida, Juzo Honenuki

Team Asui (560): Tsuyu Asui, Ibara Shiozaki, Fumikage Tokoyami, Reiko Yanagi

Team Hojo (555): Emu Hojo, Hanta Sero, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Mezo Shoji

Team Jiro (420): Kyoka Jiro, Yui Kodai, Sen Kaibara, Mashirao Ojiro

Team Awase (360): Yosetsu Awase, Mina Ashido, Shihai Kuroiro, Togaru Kamakiri

Team Shinso (260): Hitoshi Shinso, Sento Kiryu, Gentoku Himuro, Mei Hatsume

Team Monoma (245): Neito Monoma, Manga Fukidashi, Parado Doxx, Kosei Tsubaraba

Team Komori (235): Kinoko Komori, Hiryu Rin, Jurota Shishida, Kazumi Sawatari

Team Shoda (155): Nirengeki Shoda, Kojiro Bondo, Pony Tsunotori, Denki Kaminari

“Woohoo! Glad we’re on the same team, Mido!” Tokage said enthusiastically, gripping the other greenette in a tight hug much to his embarrassment. Uraraka glowered at the other girl’s display of affection towards Midoriya, uncertain of her feelings at that moment. Meanwhile, her teammates…were a different story. “FUCK! WHY DO I HAVE TO TEAM UP WITH YOU, ICYHOT?” Bakugo roared, while Todoroki stared impassively. “If it was up to me, I’d rather not team with you either…but it doesn’t look like we have the option” the bichromatic boy noted. “Hey dudes, let’s just win this thing, okay?” Kirishima asked, causing a spark of determination and a brief flash of respect to flash in the two teens’ eyes. “Yeah…let’s win this…Round Face, Shitty Hair, IcyHot…”

“Thank you for having me!” Iida bowed stiffly to the other members of Team Kendo. “It’s always good to make new friends, _kero_” Asui said to Tokoyami, Shiozaki and Yanagi, who nodded in agreement. “Looks like I’m with you guys…Class 1-B” the brunette Business student said, grinning. “The name’s Kazumi Sawatari! Let’s do this thing!” “R-Right!” squeaked team captain Komori, a short girl with brown hair covering her eyes. “Let’s show those Class 1-A losers what we can do!” Monoma said, to mixed reaction from his team. “FUCK YEAH! Let’s do this!” Awase shouted, his team cheering in agreement. “Looks like it the two of us again…with these two” Shinso said to his General Studies friend, before gesturing to the two Support Students equipping tech on themselves.

“You all have 15 minutes to strategize before the competition; just know that your strategy may not be effective for very long! Good luck, kiddos!” Midnight shouted, cracking her whip. “**_Well, this will be interesting_**” Ingenium noted, Aizawa nodding in agreement. In the faculty box, All Might gritted his teeth. “_Good luck, Young Midoriya._”

* * *

“**_AAAAAND WE’RE BACK, FOLKS!_**” Present Mic bellowed, as the audience cheered. “**_IT’S TIME TO START THE CAVALRY BATTLE! READY, MIDNIGHT?_**” The risqué pro cracked her whip. “It’s time, youngsters!” she said, as the students stood at various points across the field, ready to go. “This is it, guys…let’ do our best” Midoriya said to his team. Yaoyorozu stood as his right flank, while Tokage mirrored her on the left and Kujo stood as the ‘front horse’. “Let the all-terrain labyrinth cavalry battle…BEGIN!”

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Cavalry Battle***

Immediately, the teams sprung into action as the concrete maze rose up around them and blocked their movements in all but a few directions. “We’re coming for that ten million, Midoriya!” Kendo shouted, fire in her eyes. Her team quickly moved through the maze in search of their green-haired friend and his team, adopting a simple strategy to breach the walls, with Honenuki softening some and Banjo outright destroying others, Iida providing plenty of forward momentum for them

“DEKU! I’M GOING TO BLAST THAT SMUG LOOK OFF YOUR FUCKING FACE!” Bakugo roared, before looking to his left. “Round Face! Zero-G me!” he shouted to Uraraka, who obliged. As the boy lifted off, no gravity pulling against his explosions, a massive grin spread over his face. “THIS IS FUCKING AWESOMEEEEE!” His attention was then caught by several 1-B students, led by a short, tubby bluenette boy, who were dealing with…some kind of mud monster? Whatever. Using his explosions to angle himself downwards, he blasted the golem in the face, then turned to the team. “STUN GRENADE!”

In a burst of heat and light, he stole Team Shoda’s headband, before flying back to his team, leaving the indignant group to deal with the mud monster on their own. “Dammit, only 155…we need to get Deku’s team” he growled, staring at the headband in his hand. “_I’m actually impressed. For a while I thought he was all bark and no bite, but he’s a ridiculously talented combatant and has surprising leadership ability_” Todoroki noted, before throwing up a wave of ice to stave off another golem, which Bakugo then incinerated with an explosion. “Not bad, IcyHot!”

“**_WOW! TEAM BAKUGO HAS ALREADY CLAIMED THEIR FIRST VICTIM! TEAM SHODA DIDN’T STAND A CHANCE!_**” Present Mic shouted. “**_Bakugo and Todoroki were at each other’s throats in the last round, but it’s kind of scary seeing how effectively they’re working together right now_**” Ingenium added his two cents. “**_Not bad, Shouta, not bad at all._**” Aizawa sighed.

Team Midoriya managed to escape the concrete maze and entered a wider area full of trees. “It’s quiet here…” Tokage said, grinning. “Yeah. _Too_ quiet” Yaoyorozu responded, an edge of wariness in her tone. “Tokage, you know what to do” Midoriya said, looking at the other greenette. The reptilian girl’s sharp-toothed smile widened. “Aye aye, sir!” Her right eye and arm both detached and flew off in search of potential threats and targets alike. The girl’s remaining eye quickly widened. “On our right – we’ve got company!”

A nearby concrete wall of the maze exploded in a shower of dust and debris. As the dust cleared, the attacking team came into view. “LET’S MESS THESE PUNKS UP!” roared Tetsutetsu, steel coating his body. “I like how you think, Metalhead!” Hojo said, shifting his feet onto Shoji’s massive frame and taking a massive leap towards Midoriya’s group. “Dammit! Yaomomo, do it!” Midoriya shouted, as the ponytailed girl obliged by forming a shield on her right arm. The shield blocked the other teen’s landing, but in the blink of an eye, he reached out…and plucked the ten million points off of Midoriya’s head.

“Sero, do it!” Hojo shouted, leaping through the air and pirouetting into a graceful descent, aided by a strip of Sero’s tape. “We got ‘im!” the plain-faced teen shouted, as the team captian landed on he and Shoji’s shoulders. “**_AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE TEN MILLION, AND FIRST PLACE, HAS BEEN CLAIMED BY NEW CHALLENGERS! TEAM HOJO LEADS THE PACK!_**” Kendo, Bakugo and Asui’s eyes all snapped to the screen. “New target, extras! We’re going after Pogo Stick!” Bakugo shouted, his team nodding in agreement as they accelerated along a path of Todoroki’s ice, breaking through walls using Kirishima’s hardened body as an anchor and a battering ram; Uraraka’s Quirk maximizing the effect of Bakugo’s explosions.

As Team Hojo rounded a corner in the labyrinth and made their way towards the Lake Zone, they made one fatal mistake: they let their guard down. As soon as they exited the maze, a concrete wall forming behind them as the whole thing reformatted itself again, a hail of rocks rained down on them…and in the midst of it, a thorny vine swooped in and stole both the ten million and Team Hojo’s own 555 points. “Thanks for the points, Emu!” Asui said, holding the band with an uncharacteristic grin on her face. “God dammit, Asui got us!” Sero cursed. “I told you to call me Tsu! Bye!”

With that, the frog girl’s team turned and fled, much to the gamer’s distress. “We’re back to square one…that makes the game more amusing though!” His eyes flashed red, unaware that, on the other side of the arena, so did another student’s.

* * *

“**_ANOTHER CHANGE IN THE LEAD! TEAM ASUI STEALS THE TEN MILLION FROM TEAM HOJO!_**” Bakugo glared at the scoreboard again. “Shit, we’re not keeping up. We NEED to get that band from Frog-Face, Birdbrain, Ave Maria and Casper” he growled. “Well, speak of the devil” Uraraka said, pointing to a nearby gap in the concrete walls. Sure enough, Team Asui was fleeing as best they could down a corridor, ten million points around the frog girl’s head. “FROG-FACE!” Bakugo roared as they charged forward, intent on finally claiming the ten million points…only to be intercepted from their left by an entirely different group.

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Bombing King!** *****

“Well, if it isn’t the overconfident simpletons of Class 1-A” smirked grey-eyed blonde Neito Monoma. “It seems our strategizing was correct: you all really are too concerned with beating each other and showing off to put up a good fight against a solid team of 1-B superstars.” Bakugo seethed. “What was that? Give that back; I’ll kill you!” Todoroki raised his hand, the air cooling from the gesture. “I kindly suggest that you return that headband…or else I may find myself agreeing with Bakugo here.”

“Try us, 1-A scrubs!” the bug-eyed boy on Monoma’s left scoffed. At this, the four 1-A students charged, but the 1-B students dodged at the last second, Monoma running a hand through Bakugo’s spiky blonde hair. The team about-faced, only to receive an explosion for their troubles. “My, my, what a nice Quirk you have. It’s a shame it’s in the hands of someone as barbaric as you” Monoma gloated, not realizing he’d just hit one of Bakugo’s biggest berserk buttons. “DIE!” he roared, swinging at Monoma. An explosion ripped through the air, but when the smoke cleared, Monoma was unharmed, protected by Kirishima’s Hardening Quirk.

“And what about that two-faced rich brat on your left? Daddy Endeavor must have bought him an express ticket into UA” he continued, before targeting the other one. “And speaking of which, look at that lower-class country girl on your left. Are you sure you’re not too good to be around someone like her?” Monoma sneered. “And the cowardly lion in the middle; he really is just a discount Tetsutetsu.”

Neito Monoma didn’t realize until later, when he was nursing multiple explosion burns, several large bruises, a significant concussion and freezerburn, that he’d messed up and pushed the berserk buttons of EVERY SINGLE MEMBER of Team Bakugo. “IcyHot…Round-Face…Shitty Hair. We’re going to kill this guy. Understand?” the blonde bomber growled in a low, guttural tone. He glared down at them only to discover that his teammates all bore similar glares. “Are you kidding? You’d better believe we’re going to take him down…” Uraraka said. “And utterly humiliate him and his team” Todoroki finished. “We’re kicking his ass; no two ways about it” Kirishima growled.

The team charged into action, Bakugo launching himself off of the back of his ‘horse’ and swooping in for the kill. “Tsubaraba!” Monoma shouted, as the bug-eyed boy took a deep breath, then pursed his lips and exhaled, a solid wall forming in midair near him. Bakugo hit the wall with a loud thud, clearly taken aback. “Gotcha!” the boy snickered.

_Kosei Tsubaraba. His Quirk: Solid Air! He can make any air he exhales into a solid wall!_

Bakugo was undeterred, and as the 1-B team turned away, he drove a fist through the shield and ripped both Team Monoma’s headband and his two stolen headbands off, before rocketing back to his team. “No!” the annoying blonde shouted, but it was too late. “Now…how shall we teach this B-list dickwad a lesson?” Bakugo hissed, his teammates hungrily staring at Monoma and his team. “Tsubaraba…can you block anything they send at us?” Monoma asked his bug eyed teammate, who shook his head. “Parado, any ideas?” The dark-haired boy shook his head, then whistled. “Negative on that front. Currently estimating a…wow, a 103.3% chance of failure. Impressive.” “…Fukidashi?” The bubble-headed boy’s face simply read “We’re doomed.” And for the first time in his life, Neito Monoma had to verbally curse his rotten luck.

“Fuck.”

* * *

Itsuka Kendo was a patient woman. She could wait for good opportunities to come to her, but the clock was running out. Her team had a respective total of 1,325 points, having nabbed Team Jiro’s headband and stuck her team in the ground with Honenuki’s Quirk, much to the punk girl’s anger, and apologetically stealing Team Komori’s headband after trapping her team in a ring of fire (it turned out that the Business Course student’s grease was easily ignited by Banjo’s flames, but not as easily extinguished. At least they’d be safe from the beastly golems roaming the maze though. They’d also snagged a headband from Team Shinsou, running away as soon as they could. They didn’t want to fight an opponent with two insane Support students and unknown Quirks on their side.

“**_HALFWAY THROUGH, LADIES AND GENTS! LET’S SEE THE RANKINGS! IN FIRST PLACE, WITH THE TEN MILLION, TEAM ASUI! HOT ON THEIR HEELS IN SECOND IS TEAM KENDO, FOLLOWED BY TEAM BAKUGO, TEAM AWASE AND TEAM SHINSO! NOBODY ELSE HAS ANY POINTS!_**” Mic yelled. “**_Keep an eye on the Support Kids; I think they’ve hacked the speakers-!_**” Aizawa began, only to be cut off by an enthusiastic yell of “**_COMING IN HOT WITH THESE NEW BABIES! INTRODUCING THE BLD RABBIT SHOE AND HATSUME HOVER PACK!_**” Team Shinso dove into the fray once more, bouncing off the ground and floating over the battlefield thanks to the aforementioned inventions.

The pros stood off in a corner of the arena, watching the events unfold. “It’s getting to be time, Principal. Should we…?” Cementoss asked, manipulating the ever-shifting maze as he spoke. The small humanoid animal squinted at the battlefield, regarding it with interest, before sipping his tea. “Yes, I believe it is time. Let the second phase of the Cavalry Battle begin!”

All the walls dropped away and the golems melted into piles of mud as the pro heroes deactivated their Quirks, leaving a wide open field with all the teams in it. Some of them were in no position to compete, such as Team Monoma, who were presently frozen in a huge chunk of ice, or Team Komori, still surrounded by a ring of fire. However, others, like Team Jiro and Team Shoda, had lost their headbands and were itching for a chance to try again.

“FROG-FACE!” Bakugo roared as he launched himself towards Team Asui, his team charging behind him. “You have something that belongs to us!” Hojo shouted, crouching and ready to leap, before he and the explosive blonde made eye contact. “DON’T GET IN MY WAY, POGO STICK!” Bakugo shouted. “YOU stay out of MY way, Blasty McSplode!” Hojo shouted in response. Bakugo’s anger bubbled again, and he changed course to intercept Hojo near Team Asui’s position. An explosive palm met a meteoric kick, and the two were forced apart, both returning to their own teams.

“Tsu, we’re coming for you!” Midoriya warned as his team charged forward. “We’ve got trouble! Team Jiro at three o’clock!” Tokage shouted, as the punk girl’s earlobe jacks shot towards them. “Yaomomo!” Midoriya cried. “On it!” The raven-haired girl produced a concussion grenade and threw it in Jiro’s direction. “Kaibara!” Jiro shouted. “You got it!” the dark-haired boy yelled, before rotating an arm at incredible speeds, generating a gust of wind that returned the grenade towards Team Midoriya. “Crap!” Midoriya cursed, before spotting a window of opportunity. “Move to the left, now!”

Sure enough, the concussion grenade exploded where Team Midoriya had stood just moments prior…but was now occupied by Team Awase. “Dammit, that hurt!” the headbanded boy cursed, seemingly unharmed. “Luckily, I’m made of some pretty stern stuff!” By then, however, the greenette’s team had moved closer to Asui’s team. “Kujo!” Midoriya shouted, as the speedy teen rotated on is left foot and threw a high kick in an attempt to snag the ten million back…only to be intercepted by an explosion, which then snagged the ten million points and Team Asui’s 560 points.

“GOT THE FUCKER!” Bakugo shouted, before hitting Asui’s team (and Midoriya’s by extension) with a Stun Grenade. “NICE TRY, DEKU!” The blonde landed with his team, Uraraka returning gravity to him. “**_TEAM BAKUGO SUDDENLY PULLS INTO THE LEAD!_**” The blonde grinned devilishly. “Now…who else wants to end up like those extras?” he said, jerking a thumb towards the frozen forms of Team Monoma. Team Awase and Team Jiro charged forward, intending to take the ten million. “IcyHot, you know what to do!” Bakugo shouted. Todoroki inhaled, then shot a massive wave of ice, freezing both teams in place up to their necks. “You’ve got nothing for me, Earlobes…so I’ll take yours, Headband!”

Unfortunately for Bakugo, he quickly discovered that Awase’s points weren’t moving at all. “Surprise, motherfucker!” the boy laughed. “I welded it to my forehead!” “AWESOME!” Ashido squealed.

_Yosetsu Awase. His Quirk: Weld! He can fuse any two objects together at the molecular level as long as he’s touching both of them! Pretty rad!_

“Tch. Waste of my time!” Bakugo snorted, before setting off a Stun Grenade just to vent some anger on that team, before returning to his own trio. “Anyone else wanna try?” he glowered, explosions popping in his palms. “Bondo! Cemendine!” Shoda shouted, as his tall, quiet teammate shot a grey liquid from his eyeholes. “Kaminari! Do it!” The electric blonde grinned, now knowing his teammates were safe. “INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK…1.3 MILLION VOLTS!” he shouted, sending a wave of lightning across the ground. “Crap! Yaomomo!” Midoriya shouted. “One insulation sheet, coming right up!” the rich girl said, producing a silvery blanket and throwing it over her team just in time, as a wave of electricity rolled over them.

The wave of electricity passed by Team Asui, who were defended by a wall of Shiozaki’s vines and Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow. “That was close, _kero_” the frog girl sighed. Team Hojo wasn’t nearly as lucky, as the electric attack hit them head on, stunning them. “IcyHot!” Bakugo shouted. “Coming right up” Todoroki responded coolly, a wave of ice shooting out again to block the attack while freezing Team Shoda and Team Hojo in place. “Sit back and watch the show, extras!”

Just then, a long crane arm shot out of the ice and snagged two headbands off of Bakugo’s head. “Dammit!” he cursed, as the arm retracted through the hole it created. Team Shinsou admired the reach of the “**_BLD MULTI CANNON!_**”, as the user so helpfully described it via the speaker system. “This is terrible. We didn’t get the ten million” the dark-haired boy using it said, sighing as a section of his hair stood up. He stared at Team Asui’s 560 point band and Team Shoda’s 155 points in his hand, before giving them to his purple-haired captain.

_Sento Kiryu. His Quirk: Big Brain! He’s really freakin’ smart…in fact, he, Mei Hatsume and Nariaki Utsumi are known as the Support Department’s Terrible Trio…and they’ve barely been here a month!_

“No, that’s fine. We’re just fine with this…although getting our original headband back would be nice…” the tall boy in the center said, his eyebrow raised. “Leave it to me!” the pinkette – Hatsume – said, a long cable shooting from beneath her huge…tracts of land, snagging a headband from Team Kendo. “HEY!” the indignant orangette shouted. “God dammit, Sento!” Banjo cursed his friend out. “Sorry Banjo…but we’ve got a game to win!” the dark-haired boy said, before Team Shinsou turned and ran off. “Oops. I got Team Komori’s band” Hatsume said, handing the 235 to Shinsou. “Perfect” the purple-haired boy said, as his team rounded an iceberg and vanished.

* * *

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Jet Set Run** *****

Midoriya stared at Kendo for a few moments, watching the orangette’s body language. “_They’re about to attack…we should use this as our window of opportunity and do so before they do_.” Looking to his team, he nodded. “Any of you extras wanna fight-!” Bakugo began, before a war cry cut him off. “ABOUT FUCKING TIME, DEKU!” the blonde roared, as his greenette foe’s team raced towards him. “**_IT’S DOWN TO THE WIRE! THERE’S ONLY 30 SECONDS LEFT IN THE CAVALRY BATTLE!_**” Midoriya’s eyes widened. “_Only 30 seconds! This had better work, then!_” he thought. “Kujo!” he shouted. The dark-haired boy grinned. “Took you lone enough to tell me! RACER RUSH!” he shouted, running forward in a sudden burst of speed, the explosive blonde now in striking distance.

“Kendo, there is something I should tell you. I have a move that, while it may render me useless afterwards, should allow us to win” Iida said, getting into a sprinter’s stance and readying himself to run. He relayed his plan to his teammates, who nodded in agreement. The boy’s engines began to shoot blue flames, as he prepared to dash forward.

“**_TEN SECONDS LEFT!_**”

Midoriya focused One For All and swung…not at Bakugo, but at Todoroki. The boy’s eyes widened, and his left arm briefly caught fire, before Midoriya swung his hand upward and grabbed at the ten million points hiding on Bakugo’s forehead. “Dammit, Deku! Lie down and die already!” Bakugo shouted, swinging down…only to be interrupted.

“TORQUE OVER…RECIPRO BURST!”

And in a sudden burst of speed, Team Kendo had stolen both the ten million points and Team Bakugo’s original 720 points off of Bakugo’s forehead, leaving Midoriya to grasp at thin air. “Wha-?” both of the childhood friends gawked, before springing into action. “GIVE THAT BACK, HANDSY BITCH!” Bakugo roared, launching himself towards Team Kendo. “I’m taking back the ten million!” Midoriya said. Just as he got within striking distance however, a buzzer sounded, and Present Mic’s voice cut through the battle.

“**_TIME’S UP! LET’S SEE THE RESULTS!_**”

Midnight cracked her whip. “**_IIIIIN FIRST PLACE, WITH 10,000,550 POINTS, NONE OTHER THAN TEAM KENDO!_** Iida adjusted his glasses, before being surprised by a massive celebratory group hug. “Woohoo! We actually did it!” Banjo shouted in joy. “**_IN SECOND PLACE WITH 1,225 POINTS, TEAM BAKUGO!_** The explosive blonde yelled incoherently in anger on the ground while Kirishima and Uraraka laughed and Todoroki stared impassively. “**_IN THIRD PLACE, TEAM SHINSOU WITH 825 POINTS! WHAT A SURPRISE!_**” Shinsou and Himuro smirked, while Hatsume and Kiryu geeked about…something in the background.

“No…we didn’t make it…” Midoriya said, trying not to cry. “I dunno about that, Mido, I think our lady friend may have something to say about that” Kujo said, a massive grin on his face. Tokage stood nearby, her right arm conspicuously missing. “When you rushed Itsu, that gave me the window I needed…to grab this!” As the lizard girl flashed a sharp-toothed smile, her arm floated up from behind her…with Team Bakugo’s 720 point band in its’ grasp. Midoriya’s eyes widened with joy. “**_IN FOURTH PLACE, WITH 720 POINTS, TEAM MIDORIYA!_**”

“**_IN FIFTH PLACE, WITH 555 POINTS, TEAM ASUI!_**” The cocoon of vines and shadows that had surrounded the team in question opened up. “Not bad, _kero_” Asui said cheerfully. “**_AND IN SIXTH PLACE, THE ONLY TEAM TO RETAIN THEIR HEADBAND THE WHOLE TIME, WITH 360 POINTS, TEAM AWASE!_**” “FUCK YEAH!” the headbanded boy yelled. “BRO HUG!” With that, he pulled Ashido, the dark-skinned boy and the mantis boy into a joyful group hug.

“This officially concludes the second round of the Sports Festival! We will now break an hour for lunch. Good job~” Midnight said, before walking offstage to grab a bite to eat. “_I can’t believe he forced me to use my fire, even for a moment…this will not stand!_” Todoroki thought, glaring first at his hand, then at Midoriya, then finally at the stands, where an imposing man covered in fire glared right back at him. He then turned to the massive sheet of ice covering much of the ring and started thawing out the teams trapped in it.

“Dammit…he was so much faster than me…” Kujo moped, while Yaoyorozu and Tokage tried to cheer him up. “Hey, Baku-bro! I’d say we did pretty good!” Kirishima said, waving at his team captain. “Sure, whatever…I’m still pissed we didn’t win though” the blonde grumbled, before walking away, smoking in fury. “Looks like our marketing strategy was a success!” Hatsume said, turning to her partner and their taller friend, who was holding a tablet with inventory orders on it. “This is awesome…” Kiryu trailed off, his hair still sticking up. “What a bunch of weirdos…” Shinsou muttered, only for Himuro to pat him on the back. “You get used to it eventually.”

As the students left the building for food while the entire arena was reformatted again for the final round, Uraraka looked around. “Hey, where’s Midoriya?” she asked. “I dunno; why are ya asking?” Tokage responded, before slyly winking, causing Uraraka to start blushing.

In a side entryway, Shoto Todoroki glared at one Izuku Midoriya. “Wh-Why did you bring me here?” the greenette asked. “Izuku Midoriya…we need to talk.”

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The final round of the Sports Festival begins! Who will start the festivities off? What does Todoroki want to talk about? Stay tuned for more!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
And now it’s time for the tournament itself! Who will stand at the top? Can’t tell yet! For the team game, I was inspired by both the Vytal Festival from Season 3 of RWBY, where the student combatants fought in multiple simulated environments, and a part of the fourth book of the Percy Jackson series, where a game of capture the flag is played involving the Labyrinth of Greek legend itself. It added a certain element of uniqueness to the battle, I think.
> 
> Originally I did Capture-the-Flag, but I liked the Cavalry Battle more by the time I rewrote things, so that’s where we’re at now.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12: Preliminary Fight! Round Three!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki confronts Midoriya! The finalists are in place, their matches decided...it's time for the tournament! Can Midoriya win against his first-round foe?

**CHAPTER 12: PRELIMINARY FIGHT! ROUND THREE!**

* * *

“Izuku Midoriya…we need to talk.”

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

Todoroki continued to stare wordlessly at the hapless figure of Izuku Midoriya, who was getting hungrier and far more uncomfortable by the second. “W-We should probably eat soon. The cafeteria’s going to be mighty busy….” The cold boy finally opened his mouth. “You…overwhelmed me, and I broke my vow” he started. “Iida, Kujo, Bakugo, Yaoyorozu, Shoji…none of them felt it, but I did. Your true power…and what it reminded me of: All Might’s Quirk.”

At this, Midoriya’s eyes widened. “_Shit shit shit! Is he on to us?!_” “Midoriya, tell me the truth…” the bichromatic boy said, clenching his fist. Far away, one of Shoji’s ears picked up their voices and started to relay the information to Uraraka and Yaoyorozu, now curious themselves. “Are you really All Might’s secret love child or something?”

“Huh?” Midoriya asked. “_What_” all three of the distant eavesdroppers said in unison. “Uhhhhhh…what? No! Not at all!” the greenette started. “Based on that reaction, there’s definitely some kind of secret involving you two, but I won’t pry. My father is the Number Two ‘hero’, Endeavor…which means that, given your connection to the Number One, I have even more of a reason to beat you” Todoroki said, as Midoriya’s horror and awkwardness increased.

Back in the cafeteria, Shoji duplicated another mouth on one of his limbs and commented on the whole thing. “What the heck is with Todoroki?” “My father has always been stuck at Number Two; he’s never been able to surpass All Might at any point…which is how I came into being” the bichromatic teen said. “I don’t get it…what are you trying to say to me?” Midoriya asked. Todoroki sighed, then continued. “Tell me…have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages?”

Back in the cafeteria, the eavesdropper trio’s eyes widened. “No” Uraraka whispered. “He wouldn’t…” Shoji said. Yaoyorozu was almost steaming in fury, some long-buried anger re-igniting within her. “That _bastard_” she hissed.

“They became an issue in the first few generations after Quirks first became commonplace, but in some places they still happen despite having been outlawed decades ago” Todoroki said, his eyes narrowing. “My father has a long list of accomplishments, good and bad, and a lot of money with those. He bought my mother’s entire family off in order to have her and her powerful ice Quirk.” Seeing the look of abject horror on Midoriya’s face, he continued.

“I hate the fact that I’m even related to that bastard, much less that he views me as his ultimate creation. In all my memories of my mother, she was crying…and she called my left side unbearable before pouring boiling water on my face.” Midoriya stared in shock, while in the cafeteria, Uraraka tried not to cry. “His pride drove him to become this barbaric monster. It’s why I refuse to use his damned fire Quirk…and why I will come in first without using it.”

Around a corner, listening to the conversation, Katsuki Bakugo’s fists tightened in rage. Both at Todoroki for limiting himself, thinking he was better than everyone else at half power…and at Endeavor for being such a pile of flaming garbage. “_No matter how much I have to struggle to become Number One – and I WILL become Number One – I will never stoop to that piece of shit’s level. Doing that to your fucking family is downright villainous_” the blonde thought, having to use every ounce of his willpower to keep from trying to go explode the Number Two here right then and there.

“I don’t care what your goals, ambitions or connection to All Might are” the bichromatic boy said, turning to walk away. “Just know this: I WILL beat you with only my right side…I promise you that.” Midoriya thought hard about what Todoroki had said, before making his move. “Listen, Todoroki…I couldn’t have gotten here without help…and I’ve gotten even more help since I came to UA…but don’t take that to mean I’m weak. I will become a hero who saves everyone with a smile on his face...so you’d better not hold back, or I WILL beat you.” The bichromatic boy stared for a few moments, then turned and walked away.

“Well, that was…uhhhh” Shoji’s mouth started. “Heartbreaking?” Uraraka asked. “Infuriating?” Yaoyorozu steamed. “Maybe a bit of both” the tall boy said. “Oh yeah, Yaomomo…why are you so angry?” Uraraka asked the furious girl. “WHY AM I – oh, sorry.”

The trio sat down at an empty table in one corner. “My mother was the result of a Quirk Marriage…my grandmother married my grandfather solely for his strong Quirk. Like Endeavor, she had plenty of money to back her up, and has always been horrible, especially to my mother and grandfather” Yaoyorozu explained, angrily cutting a piece of meat. “Anytime they come to visit, my mother starts to have a panic attack…and whenever I see my poor grandfather, who has had to put up with over four decades of abuse from that woman…I can’t help but shake in fury.”

Uraraka suddenly hugged the taller girl. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with a terrible relative like that” the brunette said, trying to hold back her tears. “You really are strong” Shoji said, bowing his head and closing his eyes. The raven-haired girl started to tear up herself…and then two figures walked up to their table.

* * *

“**_AAAND WE’RE BACK, LADIES AND GENTS! IT’S ALMOST TIME TO GET STARTED ON THE FINAL ROUND, BUT WE’VE STILL GOT SOME FUN AND GAMES FOR YOU AND THE STUDENTS WHO DIDN’T QUITE MAKE IT BEFORE WE START!_**” Present Mic shouted. “**_WE EVEN BROUGHT IN CHEERLEADERS!_**” Several girls in cheer costumes were doing a dance routine in one part of the stadium. “**_Wait…what the actual heck are they doing?_**” Aizawa asked, his eyes narrowing on one part of the field. “**_Good save, Aizawa_**” Ingenium snarked.

The girls of 1-A were all dressed in UA Cheer costumes. “**_IT LOOKS LIKE 1-A’S GONE FULL FANSERVICE!_**” Mic shouted. “Those bastards…they tricked us!” Yaoyorozu steamed in fury (again), while Mineta and Kaminari looked like they were having the single best day of their lives. “I don’t want to do this anymore” Jiro said, frowning. “Well I do!” Ashido said, jumping happily. “Anyone else with me?” “I am!” chirped ana familiar voice.

“Tokage?” Yaoyorozu asked, as the green-haired girl from 1-B walked over. “Y’all can call me Setsuna; we are friends, after all” the girl said, before flashing a sharp-toothed smile. “Anyway, if any of you want out, I’m in!” Jiro and Yaoyorozu immediately raised their hands. “I’d like to wear real clothes, if that’s possible, _kero_” Asui added. “Well then, it’s settled! Kinoko, Pony, wanna join in?” the greenette asked of two of her friends, a tiny brunette with long hair and a tall blonde with horns on her head.

“Totally, friendy!” the blonde said, before realizing that came out wrong. “S-Sorry. My Japanese still isn’t very good” she chuckled. “Absolutely!” the short one said, blushing a little under her long hair. “Awesome! Anyone else want in? Reiko?” the greenette said, looking towards a grey-haired girl, who shook her head. “Itsuka? Yui?” Both the orange-haired class president and the plain-looking _kuudere_ next to her declined. “…Ibara?” she asked of a vine-haired girl, whose face immediately contorted into a visage of horror, flushed red with embarrassment.

“Oh Lord, absolutely not! Such debauchery in the eyes of God…” the religious girl clasped her hands in prayer. “May the Lord absolve you of your sins. Amen” she said, before walking away, still blushing. “…Is she going to be okay?” Asui asked. “Don’t mind Swamp Thing’s Religious Daughter” Tokage said, giggling. “Ibara’s a nice girl…but she’s kind of a prude.”

* * *

As the finalists gathered in front of the stage, Midnight took her position. “All the finalists will now draw lots to determine their opponents. There will be a half-hour reprieve before the first match starts, so the finalists can either conserve their energy and prepare for battle, or participate in the games…” the risqué pro said, before a glint of mischievousness shone in her eye.

Just then, two students from the third-place team raised their hands. “We don’t really care about the competition anymore” Kiryu said, as Hatsume vibrated energetically next to him, Utsumi standing behind both of them. “**_YEAH, WE’VE ALREADY ADVERTISED OUR BABIES! WE’RE DROPPIN’ OUT!_**” Hatsume shouted, hacking the sound system again.

“**_Well…that’s a first for me_**” Ingenium commented from the announcer’s box. “**_We’ll have to wait and see what Midnight has to say though_**” Aizawa added. The Rated-R Hero stood in stunned silence for a moment, before cracking her whip. “So be it! Naïve of you, but at the same time very sporting! It turns me on~” The entire crowd of students blinked in confusion, some facepalming (in Shoji’s case, with three hands at once) and other blushing (even the quiet Yui Kodai had a red tint to her cheeks). “_Did she really say that out loud?_” they all wondered.

“Well then, it looks like two members of Team Asui will move on! Congratulations, kids, it’s your lucky day!” the pro announced. Asui and Yanagi immediately declined, so Tokoyami and Shiozaki were chose to move on. The sixteen finalists drew lots, and a few moments later, the results were displayed on a holographic screen. “Pay close attention! These will be your Round 1 opponents!” The matches were announced as follows:

Izuku Midoriya (1-A) vs Gentoku Himuro (1-C)

Setsuna Tokage (1-B) vs Shoto Todoroki (1-A)

Eijiro Kirishima (1-A) vs Ryuga Banjo (1-B)

Momo Yaoyorozu (1-A) vs Juzo Honenuki (1-B)

Fumikage Tokoyami (1-A) vs Hitoshi Shinso (1-C)

Ochako Uraraka (1-A) vs Itsuka Kendo (1-B)

Kiriya Kujo (1-A) vs Tenya Iida (1-A)

Katsuki Bakugo (1-A) vs Ibara Shiozaki (1-B)

Each competitor stared at their first opponent. “May the best woman win, Itsu!” Uraraka said. “Agreed, Ochako” her orange-haired opponent responded, respect on her face. “Oh, this’ll be manly as heck!” Kirishima said, Banjo grinning in agreement. “Do your best, Honeuki” Yaoyorozu said to her lipless foe. “You too, Yaoyorozu” the ash-haired boy responded. “Shiozaki? Who the fuck is that?” Bakugo asked. “May the Lord give me strength in purifying this wicked sinner…” Shiozaki prayed.

“Let’s see who wins this race, Iida” Kiriya smirked. “May the best of us win!” his bespectacled foe responded. “Oh crap…” Tokage muttered, as Todoroki glared coldly at her. “What a mad banquet of darkness” Tokoyami said, ignoring the creepy grin the purple-haired boy was flashing at him. “Himuro, eh?” Midoriya wondered, before scanning the crowd…only to realize his opponent was the bearded giant from 1-C. “_Or I’ll just surrender now_” the boy thought.

“**_THE THIRTY-MINUTE INTERMISSION STARTS NOW! BETTER GET YOUR POPCORN, THIS TOURNAMENT WILL BE A DOOZY!_**” Present Mic stated. “**_BUT FIRST, SOME WORDS FROM THE UA SPROT’S FESTIVAL’S OFFICIAL SPONSORS: THE DETNERAT GROUP, GENM CORP AND SMART BRAIN, INC!_**”

* * *

In no time, the thirty minutes had flown by, and the ring was in place for the final round of the tournament. “**_HEY SPORTS FANS, ARE YOU READY?_**” Present Mic asked, a huge pop from the crowd greeting him in response. “**_For this round, please welcome special guest judge, Cementoss!_**” Ingenium announced, as the stony pro climbed to the top of a platform next to the ring. “I’ll step in and stop the match if things get out of hand” he said, before settling comfortably into his chair.

“Are you ready, Young Midoriya?” All Might asked. The boy turned around in the corridor leading out to the field to see the skinny pro walking up, with the older Midoriya by his side. “Mom! All M – uhhh, Yagi-sensei! Well…I am, but at the same time I’m not” Midoriya said, before his mother tackled him in a giant hug, the waterworks starting again. “Izuku, my baby boy! I’m so proud of you~!” the woman sobbed. “Y-Yeah…I’m really happy too, mom” the greenette responded. “Just remember, Young Midoriya: no matter how you do, both your mother and the teachers, myself included, are very proud of you…now go out there, and just like All Might told you, proudly tell the world that ‘I AM HERE’!” he said.

The green-haired boy turned around, ready to march out. “Right! Thank you Mom, Yagi-sensei…I’ll make you proud” he said, just as his name was called.

“**_FIRST UP, WE HAVE THE GREEN-HAIRED STREAK OF LIGHTNING FROM 1-A; IT’S IZUKU MIDORIYA!_**” Present Mic shouted as the greenette made his way towards the ring, a determined smile covering his face. “**_AND HIS OPPONENT, THE TOWERING TITAN OF 1-C, IT’S GENTOKU HIMURO!_**” The tall, bearded teen walked towards the opposite side of the ring, a cold look set on his face. “Himuro? Like Taizan Himuro, the Minister of Finance hurt in the terrorist attack two weeks ago?” someone in the audience asked. The bearded teen heard this and hissed a low, reptilian noise, but walked forward like nothing had happened.

As four massive torches lit up the ring from its’ corners, Aizawa explained the rules. “**_Victory is achieved by incapacitation, elimination from the ring, disqualification or surrender. Don’t hold anything back unless it poses a threat to someone’s life; we have Recovery Girl on standby to treat injuries. May the best man win_**” he yawned. “I’ll stop the match if things get too rough” Cementoss said from his chair. “Midoriya, are you ready?” Midnight asked, the boy nodding in response. “Are you ready, Himuro?” The bearded boy responded affirmatively. “Then…BEGIN!”

The two competitors stared at each other for a few minutes, neither daring to move. “_The problem is, I don’t know what his Quirk is, so I can’t get in close just yet-!_” Midoriya began to think, when suddenly the taller boy dashed towards him. “_Okay then. If he’s coming in close, his Quirk is most likely a close-ranged Quirk with a lot of power behind it._”

The greenette charged 5% Full Cowl and ducked, before attempting to zip past the taller boy…only for his opponent to react with inhuman speed and clothesline him, sending the poor boy sprawling. “**_WHAT A DEVASTATING HIT BY 1-C’S HIMURO! WILL HE SHOCK THE WORLD AND BEAT A 1-A FAVORITE TO WIN IT ALL?_**” Himuro scowled. “Pathetic. Is this really what the heroes of tomorrow are like?” The crowd murmured in awe at the dark horse General Studies boy flattening one of the tournament favorites.

Midoriya’s eyes widened at that statement. “What do you mean?!” His opponent scowled. “If you can’t beat me, someone with next to no experience fighting with his Quirk WHILE he’s fighting Quirkless…then I can’t trust you or anyone else in 1-A to reliably protect the world when you go pro” he spat, before delivering a devastating kick to his opponent as he began to get back up.

“You in 1-A seem to lack the convictions needed to be effective heroes…so I’ll beat you here and replace you in becoming a hero!” the tall teen yelled. He readied another powerful hit, but before he could connect, Midoriya narrowly dodged. “_He’s going to be a tough opponent even without using his Quirk, so I’m going to have to hit him hard and fast!_” the boy thought, cocking his fist back, before shouting out his attack’s name. “FIVE PERCENT…DETROIIIIT SMAAASH!” The boy drove his fist into his opponent’s gut, the taller teen coughing as his breath was knocked out of him, skidding across the ring and falling onto his back.

“_Did…did I do it?_” Midoriya wondered. In the student stands, Classes 1-A and 1-B sat together and watched the battle. “He got him!” Uraraka and Kirishima cheered. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourselves” Yaoyorozu said, catching the attention of those around her. “Midoriya’s fight is just beginning.”

***cue Kamen Rider Build OST – Passionate Mind** *****

Sure enough, the prone teen began to rise back to his feet, looking as if nothing had ever happened. “Perhaps you’re not as pathetic as I thought, Izuku Midoriya” he said, cracking his neck. “Very well then. I’ll fight you at full power…and beat you!” he shouted. Midoriya struck a fighting stance as his opponent began to remove his gym uniform’s jacket, revealing a black tank top and a very muscular body underneath.

“I am Gentoku Himuro…son of Japanese Finance Minister Taizan Himuro” the teen said, flexing his muscles. “Until the terrorist attack two weeks ago, I had no interest in heroics. But after seeing my father bleeding out on the ground…I decided I WILL become a hero! And you will be the first stepping stone to that dream; a sacrifice for the greater good!” he shouted, as his skin began to ripple. “HENSHIN!”

And with that, purple scales erupted from the teen’s skin as his muscles increased in size. His body swelled as his clothes began to stretch, pushed to the limit by his sudden increase in size. His pupils narrowed to vertical slits, and two small ridges of hardened knobs of scales manifested in his hair. Teeth elongated slightly and sharpened dramatically as a predatory gleam shone in his eyes. Despite all this, his goatee remained intact as his transformation concluded.

“**_WH-WHAAAAAT?! 1-C’S HIMURO HAS TRANSFORMED INTO SOME KIND OF SWAMP MONSTER!_**” Present Mic shouted. “**_Cool your jets, Mic; that’s just his Quirk. I always found it odd that someone with a Quirk as perfect as heroics as this boy would choose to enter General Studies instead…but after the incident two weeks ago at the Finance Ministry, I think his goal has changed_**” Aizawa said. “Wh-what?!” Midoriya wondered, staring at the six-and-a-half-foot tall monster staring him down.

_Gentoku Himuro. His Quirk: Crocodile Rogue! His Quirk lets him cover himself in scales and increases his strength, speed and durability by transforming into a crocodile-like form! He can also swim faster!_

“Whoa…what a Quirk!” Sero shouted. “Hmmm…Transformation Type…strong and flashy…yep, he’s got a lot of potential, unlike your Class 1-A losers-!” Monoma began, before Kendo knocked him out. “Hey Shishida, isn’t that something of a combination of our Quirks?” Rin, the Chinese exchange student, asked of the hairy teen next to him. “Indeed. It seems Himuro is in the possession of a stalwart, profound Quirk not unlike my own…and yet still similar to your own abilities” Shishida responded. “_Nerd_” the rest of 1-A and 1-B thought.

“Izuku Midoriya…you had better hit me with nothing less than your best…because if you don’t, you WILL lose” the crocodile boy said, cracking his knuckles. Midoriya drew himself into a fighting stance, a fire burning in his eyes. His opponent noticed this. “_Oh? He might actually have potential…_” Then, wordlessly, the two combatants rushed each other, one crushing the arena under his feet, the other sparking with green lightning.

***cue My Hero Academia OST – Jet Set Run** *****

The shorter boy ducked under a massive right from his opponent and swung his fist into his opponent’s gut, the impact being dulled by the thick scales but still forcing Himuro back. The scaly teen counterattacked with a powerful knee, Midoriya barely guarding against the powerful strike. Not giving him any breathing room, Himuro unleashed a barrage of powerful punches, forcing Midoriya almost to the edge of the ring.

The boy knew he was on the ropes. “_Crap, I’m in a really bad spot! It looks like I only really have one course of action…I’ll have to outrun him until I have a better plan!_” Midoriya dashed to the opposite side of the ring from his opponent. “_He’s a tough customer, alright. Easily as strong as I am with 5%, maybe stronger, incredibly fast, and tough to boot. So my best bet…is to hit him harder!_”

Midoriya channeled 100% into his right middle finger. “DELAWARE SMAAAASSH!” the greenette yelled, releasing a mighty blast of wind, buffeting people in the stands with powerful gusts. The blast stunned Himuro, and while he was recovering, the shorter boy prepared to finish the match, as he raced towards his foe.

“_Time to take a cue from Emu for this one!_” he thought, briefly shooting a glance towards his classmate. As he drew near, he channeled a painful 15% of One For All into his leg, and, face scrunched up in pain, turned on his heel. “Let’s end this! 15%...MINNEAPOLIS SMASH!” he shouted, delivering a powerful side kick to Himuro’s stomach.

The scaly teen was blasted out of the ring and across the field by the kick. Midoriya felt several massive fractures develop in his leg bones, but ignored the pain in order to celebrate his victory. Midnight raised her hand. “Gentoku Himuro is out of bounds! Izuku Midoriya advances to the next round!” The crowd exploded into cheers at the sight of the unexpected underdog defeating the dark horse powerhouse.

In the faculty box, Inko passed out in joy and relief at the sight of her son advancing to the quarterfinals. “THAT’S IT, YOUNG MIDORIYA! WELL DONE!” All Might shouted, once again shifting into his muscle form out of joy. Taiga rolled his eyes while clapping. At the rate you keep doing that, she’ll see you transform before the preliminary round even ends…”

“**_WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FIRST MATCH BY THESE TWO CONTESTANTS! WILL ANY OF THE NEXT FEW MATCHES BEGIN TO COMPARE TO THAT?!_**” Present Mic bellowed. “**_This match was a beautiful back-and-forth in terms of who it seemed would win. At first, it looked like Midoriya would go home with an easy win, but Himuro quickly turned the tables and put 1-A’s rising star on the ropes, before Midoriya made a quick and effective comeback to win the match_**” Ingenium said, delivering a quick and accurate summary of the match.

Down in the field, the now-shrunken and no longer scale-covered teen sat up, rubbing his forehead. “I…lost?” he asked, as his former opponent walked over. “You did good, Himuro!” Midoriya exclaimed, taking the teen by surprise. “Your Quirk is super-strong and really flashy; you should have no problem transferring to the Hero Course!” he continued, offering a hand to Himuro.

The bearded teen’s mind flashed back to two weeks earlier. On that idyllic spring morning, he had gone to tour the Ministry of Finance with his father and a group of interested teens from other schools. Then, as the older Himuro was talking animatedly about the Ministry’s Department of Accounting, a makeshift bomb had gone off. When the smoke cleared, one office worker had been killed, and numerous others injured by flying shrapnel. The Minister of Finance himself was one of the injured, and something changed inside the bearded teen’s mind when he saw his father bleeding out from a large wound in his abdomen.

The terrorist attack was later deduced to be just a diversion for the authorities, and the Ministry of Health’s office on the other side of town had been the true target. A magician-like villain named Mr. Compress had stolen some heavily classified documents, although the aim of the theft was unknown. It had taken three emergency surgeries to save the elder Himuro, but the outlook for his recovery was good. However, as Gentoku sat by Taizan’s bedside, he could only think one thing.

“_This world really does need more heroes after all._”

“Izuku Midoriya…you really are something” the bearded teen chuckled, before accepting Midoriya’s hand and climbing to his feet. He then grabbed his former opponent’s wrist and raised his hand high in the air, the crowd erupting at the display of class and sportsmanship. “**_Oh, this one holds promise_**” Aizawa said as the crowd continued to go berserk. The duo walked off the field towards their separate locker rooms, each having made a new friend that day.

“**_NOW THAT THAT’S OVER, IT’S TIME FOR THE SECOND MATCH TO START!_**”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**The power of Todoroki goes on display! Banjo and Kirishima have a manly slugfest! Yaoyorozu vs Honenuki, and more! Stay tuned!**

* * *

**NOTES:**

**And just like that, the first match of the tournament is over! For those unaware, Gentoku Himuro is from the series after Ex-Aid, Kamen Rider Build, where he was the crocodile-themed rider, Rogue. His character has been adapted to fit the MHA-verse, so I hope I did a good job, Build fans!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
And just like that, the first match of the tournament is over! For those unaware, Gentoku Himuro is from the series after Ex-Aid, Kamen Rider Build, where he was the crocodile-themed rider, Rogue. His character has been adapted to fit the MHA-verse, so I hope I did a good job, Build fans!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13: Burn! Zero-Degree Flames of Youth!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki shows off his power! Banjo and Kirishima have a manly slugfest! Yaoyorozu faces Honenuki, and Kaminari goes against Shinsou! Can Uraraka overcome Kendo, or will she fall against 1-B's big sister?

**CHAPTER 13: BURN! ZERO-DEGREE FLAMES OF YOUTH!**

* * *

“That was incredible, Young Midoriya!” All Might said, rushing up to his green-haired successor in his hero form. “All Might! Thank you…but where’s mom?” the boy asked, limping along, his right leg heavily stressed by his finishing move. “Oh, she passed out in joy after you won. She’s in Recovery Girl’s office right now. Speaking of which, we should take you there now.”

By the time Midoriya had made it to the clinic, his mother had already returned to the faculty box, no doubt in search of the man she didn’t realize was her son’s mentor. Recovery Girl gave Midoriya a quick scolding and a whack on the head, before telling him he was free to go, his finger and stress-fractured leg healed. But the boy had some important questions before he returned.

“All Might – I mean, Toshinori-sensei” Midoriya addressed the Number One Hero. “Have you ever…heard voices because of One For All?” Both of the pro heroes in the room immediately paused. “…Voices?” All Might asked. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a voice showing up in a user’s head due to One For All. You and Nana both described seeing figures shrouded in shadows in dreams or similar states, but that’s the best I have” Recovery Girl said. “…Nana?” Midoriya asked.

All Might looked…sad? He sighed, before answering. “Nana Shimura was my mentor, and the Seventh Holder of One for All. She died a long time ago, a hero to the bitter end.” Midoriya was struck by a sudden thought. “All Might…how many holders of One For All were women?” he asked, now very curious. The two pros looked at each other. “Only one…” The boy’s eyes lit up. “The voice in my head is definitely a woman’s…and she described herself as a previous holder of One For All. You don’t think…?”

All Might’s face flickered with an indescribable expression. Recovery Girl pondered the whole situation for a few moments. “Have you tried contacting this…voice yet?” she queried. “Not yet…I’ll give it a shot” the boy said, before closing his eyes and thinking. “_Hey, uhhhhhhh…Nana Shimura? Is that you?_”

And then the inside of his mind was flooded by a warm feeling.

“_You finally got it, kid! Nana Shimura, or my ghost (?) anyway, at your service!_” the voice cheerfully stated. “_Tell Toshinori that I’ve been watching him with all the others…and I’m very, VERY proud of him._” Midoriya opened his eyes. “Did it work?” All Might asked. “It did…and she says ‘I’ve been watching you with all the others…and I’m very proud of you, Toshinori.’”

At this, tears began streaming from the Number One Hero’s eyes. “Thank you, Nana…” he sobbed, in both sadness and joy. “Okay, that’s enough, Toshinori” Recovery Girl said, whacking the hero with her cane. “We’ll have to discuss this more later, but until then you’re discharged. Go watch Todorki’s match; you’ll want to know what you’re up against.” “R-Right!”

* * *

**Cue: My Hero Academia Opening 2 – Peace Sign**

* * *

“You did good, Deku!” Uraraka shouted, as the greenette made his way into the student seating. “Here, we saved you a seat” Iida said, gesturing to an empty spot between Uraraka and Banjo. “Really manly fight, dude!” Kirishima and Tetsutetsu said in unison, before scowling at each other and turning away. As he passed Bakugo on his way down, the explosive blonde muttered something that sounded like “Good going, nerd.” “_Did that really happen? Probably just my imagination…_” the boy thought.

“**_ALRIGHT FOLKS, IT’S TIME FOR US TO BEGIN THE SECOND MATCH OF THE PRELIMINARIES!_**” Present Mic shouted, as the two combatants took the stage. “**_FIRST, FROM HERO CLASS 1-B, IT’S THE SKILLED, THE BEAUTIFUL, THE SCALY, SETSUNA TOKAGE!_**” The lizard girl flashed a sharp-toothed smile at this. “**_AND HER OPPONENT: THE UNBELIEVABLY STRONG RECOMMENDATION STUDENT, FROM 1-A: SHOTO TODOROKI!_**” “Begin!” Midnight shouted, and the lizard girl stretched.

“I know my odds of winning are almost nonexistent against you Todoroki; I saw your insane power back in the Recommendation Exam…but I don’t feel like lying down and surrendering that easily!” Tokage shouted, before throwing two punches, each of her arms detaching and flying towards her opponent with the motion. “**_A BOLD STRATEGY BY TOKAGE, AIZAWA! LET’S SEE IF IT PAYS OFF!_**” The rest of the girl’s body disassembled and floated at various points around the ring. “The early bird gets the worm; it’s as simple as that!”

_Setsuna Tokage. Her Quirk: Lizard Tail Splitter! She can disassemble her body into as many as 50 little pieces and make all of them levitate!_

“REPTILE RUSH!” she shouted, sending a barrage of punches towards the bichomatic boy. “_My best hope is to end this quickly, either by knocking him out or throwing him out. But just in case…I’ve scattered my limbs all over the ring to avoid being incapacitated by a single ice blast. I refuse…I refuse to lose!_” One of the arms grabbed Todoroki by the collar and dragged him towards the edge of the ring.

Bakugo stared at the ring. “Lizard Bitch just fucked up” he said, catching the glint of cold fury in Todoroki’s eye. “I’m sorry…” the bichromatic boy said, before unleashing a wave of cold.

The entire arena shook. In the commentary booth, Present Mic’s glasses almost slid off his face, and Aizawa stared wide-eyed. In the faculty box, Inko passed out again from shock, and both Kagami and Hanaya’s eyed bugged out of their heads. All Might was utterly stunned. The hero students gawked at the massive glacier that had formed feet from their faces, and outside, the pros guarding the stadium stared at the top of the ice formation jutting out over the edge of the top. Finally, Ingenium broke the silence. “**_Holy shit._**”

Midnight was half frozen on the stage nearby. “Tokage…can you move at all?” The poor girl was frozen up to the neck in the glacier, chattering in the cold, her reptilian biology only worsening the cold’s effects on her. “I couldn’t escape if I tried. I surrender.” Midnight raised her hand since she couldn’t crack her whip. “Setsuna Tokage has surrendered! Shoto Todoroki advances to the second round!” The crowd began to chant “Nice try!” at the poor girl as Todoroki melted the glacier. “I’m sorry…I was angry” the bichromatic boy said, before walking back to the locker room, staring coldly at the flaming man near the top of the stands.

“_Well…you’re fucked_” Nana helpfully supplied. “_No shit_” Midoriya responded.

* * *

A quick intermission later, and it was time for the next match. “**_THE THIRD MATCH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! NOW INTRODUCING THE COMBATANTS: FIRST, FROM CLASS 1-A, THE ROCK-HARD ROUGHHOUSER, EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!_**” The spiky-haired redhead grinned a sharp-toothed smile as he waved to the crowd. “**_AND HIS OPPONENT: 1-B’S BURNING BOXER, THE FIERY RYUGA BANJO!_**” The brown-haired boy had a look of abject excitement on his face, illuminated by the giant torches on each corner of the ring. “**_THIS COULD BE THE MANLIEST MATCHUP OF THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT!_**”

The two manly teens walked towards each other, meeting in the center of the ring. “May the manliest man win” Kirishima said, as the two shook hands. “May he indeed” Banjo responded, clearly ready for the battle. The two combatants each walked ten paces back, then turned to face each other. “Kirishima, are you ready?” Midnight asked. “Hell yeah!” the spiky teen shouted. “Banjo, are you ready?” Midnight asked. “I was born ready!” Banjo responded, slamming his fists together. The risqué pro then cracked her whip.

“BEGIN!”

***cue: Kamen Rider Build OST – Burning My Soul***

The two teens let out a battlecry, before charging each other. Kirishima hardened his entire upper body and swung a powerful right hook at his foe. Banjo sidestepped slightly and, lighting his fist aflame, hit Kirishima with a massive uppercut. The redhead was flung back almost halfway across the ring by the hit, but his hardened skin had sliced his opponent’s fist open. Banjo stared at his bleeding hand for a few moments, then grinned. “That was manly as FUCK dude!” “Hey thanks man, that hit of yours was really manly too!” his foe responded, sharp teeth gleaming.

The two rushed in again, fists flying as the two matched each other blow for blow. “COME ON!” “THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT!” Before letting out a simultaneous battlecry of “ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!” while pounding each other’s faces in, flame meeting rock in this manly competition. The two attack rushes forced the competitors apart and to opposite ends of the ring, each one shouting in glee before rushing each other again. Kirishima threw another huge right, followed by repeated left jabs. Bajno sidestepped or blocked all of the hits without much difficulty. “Y’know…if you’re going to try to win a boxing match, the former three-time Japanese National Youth Boxing Champion might not be a good opponent” the brown-haired boy explained. At this, Kirishima’s grin widened even more. “An opponent I have no chance against unless I give it my all? What could be more manly than this?” he asked gleefully. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

Fifteen minutes of knock-down drag-out fistcuffs later, the two were still at an impasse. Each one was thinking the same thing. “_Gotta end this soon!_” Banjo’s right fist began to burn with the hottest flames the boy could muster, while Kirishima poured every ounce of Hardening into his right arm. Then, the two charged each other. “FINISHING MOVE!” the two yelled in unison, drawing both their right arms back and swinging towards the other. “RED BREAKER!” “DRAGONIC PUNISHER!” Banjo’s red-hot fist drove into Kirishima’s left cheek, while Kirishima’s rock-hard fist drove into Banjo’s left cheek. A resounding “CRACK!” sounded through the stadium, before the duo disengaged.

The two teens wobbled on their feet, before starting to fall backwards. “That…was the manliest moment of my life…” Kirishima gasped, before passing out. “Mine too, bro, mine too…” Banjo responded, landing with a loud thud on the concrete…still conscious. Midnight blinked in surprise, then checked on the two combatants. “Eijiro Kirishima has been incapacitated! Ryuga Banjo advances to the quarterfinals!”

The crowd exploded in awe and delight as medical bots stretchered both of them away. “I want those two at my agency” one pro said. “You’ll have to compete with me for them!” another responded. Another pro in the crowd, wearing a red leather bodysuit with thick armor over it, grinned in joy. “That’s my boy…” he said, sipping a cup of coffee.

“**_AAAAAAND THAT’S THAT! WHAT A SLOBBERKNOCKER OF A MATCH WE’VE WATCHED!_**” Present Mic howled in excitement. “**_Is ‘slobberknocker’ even a word?_**” Aizawa questioned. “**_Only if you’re Jim Ross_**” Ingenium snarked. In the student seating, 1-B was going bananas with delight. “YES! THAT’S THE WAY YOU DO IT, BANJO!” Kendo yelled in joy. “Oh, that’ll be tough to follow” Honenuki said, before glancing at Yaoyorozu. “Agreed. Looks like we have our work cut out for us” the raven-haired girl said. Even Bakugo was impressed. “_He actually punched out Shitty Hair. He’s got strength going for him, that’s for sure._”

In another section of the stadium, several other friends of the victorious students were celebrating. “Awesome! Ryuga really is the best, isn’t he, Mii-tan?” Business Course 1-I student Kazumi Sawatari asked of the girl next to him. “Stow it, Grease. You could have been up there if you’d tried a little harder” she said, shaking her head. “Yeah…I really didn’t do very well, did I?” he sighed, small drops of oil falling from his hands.

In the seat next to them, a dark-haired girl cried with joy. “Ryuga…I’m so proud of you” she said, sniffling. The duo next to her turned to comfort her. “Ryuga really did good, Kasumi…and I don’t doubt that he’ll keep up his winning streak for a while to come” the girl said. “Y-Yeah. Thank you, Misora” Kasumi Ogura responded, extremely proud of her boyfriend.

A few seats over, three Support Course students were going crazy over the match. “Man, this is awesome! Look at this data!” Kiryu said, his hair standing up again. “Attaching those sensors to him before he went out to fight really worked out in our favor. We can upgrade all of his gear with this!” the tall, dark-haired boy with glasses said. Hatsume was practically glowing from the feed of information coming from their sensors. “Sen! Nari! Let’s make some really great babies for Banjo!” And so the Terrible Trio of the Support Department plotted, devising new ways to make their friend even more obscenely powerful.

* * *

“**_AND WE’RE BACK FOR THE FOURTH MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND, AND IT’S A BATTLE BETWEEN TWO RECOMMENDATION STUDENTS!_**” Present Mic bellowed, as the crowd cheered. “**_FIRST, FROM CLASS 1-A, THE QUEEN OF CREATION, MOMO YAOYOROZU!_**” The ponytailed girl bowed stiffly, clearly uncomfortable about all the eyes on her. “**_AND HER OPPONENT, THE LIPLESS WONDER OF 1-B, JUZO HONENUKI!_**” The ashen-haired boy facepalmed at his description. “Seriously, Mic-sensei?” he groaned. Midnight cracked her whip. “Yaoyorozu, are you ready?” The girl nodded. “Honenuki, are you ready?” “I am.” “Then…BEGIN!”

Yaoyorozu’s mind spun at a million miles a minute. “_From what I remember from our conversations at lunch, he can soften inorganic objects with his touch, so he’ll probably try to immobilize me by softening the concrete around my feet…_” “No hard feelings, Yaoyorozu?” her opponent asked respectfully. “No hard feelings, Honenuki” she said, smiling softly. Then, at the drop of a bag of popcorn in the audience, the two dashed forward.

Yaoyorozu formed a metal shield on her right arm and a long metal pole in her left, swinging at her foe…but the boy reached out and touched the shield. In a few moments, the metal had softened almost to a liquid consistency and dripped off her arm. Eyes widening, she swung the pole, but her opponent ducked under the swing and gripped the pole, which also softened and dripped out of her grip.

“Dammit!” the raven-haired girl yelled, conjuring a carbon-fiber baton and swinging it at Honenuki. The ashen-haired boy was clearly not expecting such a swift counterattack and narrowly avoided the hit. Yaoyorozu turned around…only to see an empty ring behind her. “**_OHHHH, WHAT’S THIS? 1-B’S HONENUKI VANISHES FROM YAOYOROZU’S VIEW!_**” Mic bellowed. “**_That’s just his Quirk. Now, you’re about to find out just why he was a recommendation student_**” Aizawa said.

The girl suddenly felt an odd sensation under her, and looked down just in time to see the concrete liquefying under her. “_Crap, he’s got my ankles! If he gets the chance to harden the concrete again, he’ll have won!_” Concentrating on her back, she began to create a new item to let her escape. The back of her jacket bulged, and a metallic backpack erupted from the torn cloth, before a jet of fire shot from its’ bottom.

“A jetpack?” Jiro asked. “That was really close for her. Juzo almost got her” a dark-skinned boy – Kuroiro, Midoriya recalled – said, not taking his eyes off the battle for even an instant. “YES! Way to go, Honenuki! Show these 1-A chumps that-!” Monoma began, before Kendo knocked him out again. “Jeez, what’s his problem?” Kujo asked. “He’s got a real issue with 1-A – I think it’s because he ran into Bakugo after the USJ Incident and he called 1-B the loser class” Tokage said, rolling her eyes.

“Seriously?!” Kujo muttered, before glaring at the explosive blonde. “Even when we’re not around his ego STILL finds ways to fuck things up for us.” Bakugo snapped right back. “Shut it, Bike-Boy! They’ve got ‘B’ in their name for a reason!” “Whatever” Kujo responded, ignoring Bakugo’s angry posturing.

Back in the ring, Yaoyorozu hovered a few feet above the ring. “_Yikes, he almost got me. I have one chance to do this…let’s hope it works!_” Her exposed midriff glowed, and out fell several small objects. “**_Russian Nesting Dolls?_**” Ingenium asked. The dolls fell into the liquefied concrete below her, and after a few moments, bubbles began to rise, before Honenuki shot out of the ground, landing near Yaoyorozu’s position as she shed her jetpack and landed on the now-solid concrete.

“Depth charges? You really are ruthless!” Honenuki shouted, stumbling around thanks to the depth charge dolls temporarily blinding him with a flash of heat and light. “I guess I can be…and right now, I’ll make it count!” the raven-haired girl shouted, grabbing one of the boy’s arms and placing a hand on his chest. Then, in one fluid motion, she threw him over her head…and out of the ring. The Rated-R Hero cracked her whip. “Juzo Honenuki is out of bounds! Momo Yaoyorozu advances to the quarterfinals!”

“**_AND WITH THAT, HALF THE MATCHES HAVE BEEN DECIDED FOR THE QUARTERFINALS! WE’LL BE BACK AFTER A TEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION FOR THE NEXT MATCH!_**” Present Mic shouted, as the crowd roared for Yaoyorozu’s victory. The girl in question walked over to her lipless opponent, who was still blinking spots out of his eyes. “I’m sorry…that was a really mean trick” she said apologetically, holding her hand out. “Don’t be” Honeuki said, grabbing her hand. As she helped him up, he continued. “You did what you had to in order to beat me, and I respect that.” The crowd cheered again at the display of sportsmanship, the victor walking her opponent to Recovery Girl’s office for a quick checkup. “The Yaoyorozu girl has a strong Quirk that she clearly has good control over…but her technique could use work. Maybe I should send her an offer…” a tall, dark-haired pro with glasses noted from the stands.

* * *

One ten-minute break later, and it was time for the next match to start. “**_LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT’S TIME FOR THE FIFTH MATCH OF ROUND ONE!_**” Present Mic shouted, as the crowd cheered. “**_FIRST, THE DARK WIZARD OF 1-A, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI!_**” The raven-headed boy stood quietly and confidently on one side of the arena, arms crossed. “**_AND HIS OPPONENT: FROM GENERAL STUDIES, ONE HALF OF 1-C’S TWO-MAN POWER TRIP, HITOSHI SHINSOU!_**” The exhausted-looking purple-haired teen walked onto the stage, and stared at Tokoyami with tired eyes that the bird boy could swear were boring into his very soul. “What a mad banquet of darkness…” Tokoyami muttered.

“Tokoyami, are you ready?” Midnight asked. “I am” the bird boy responded. “Shinsou, are you ready?” she asked. “*yawn* I’m ready” the tired purple-haired boy answered. Midnight cracked her whip. “BEGIN!” Shinsou smirked darkly. “May the best man win, right, Tokoyami?” he asked. The raven-headed teen nodded. “Indeed.”

And then the world went white for Fumikage Tokoyami. “Turn around and walk out of that ring” Shinsou said. Tokoyami found himself unable to resist. “**_WHAT’S THIS? TOKOYAMI IS GIVING UP?_**” Aizawa snorted. “**_That’s not it at all. I had some data compiled on the finalists…and this boy, Hitoshi Shinsou, is a prime example of why the UA Entrance Exam is flawed._**” The bird boy drew closer to the edge of the ring as Aizawa continued. “**_According to his files, Shinsuo has a psychological Quirk – great for hero work, but like mine, it didn’t work on the robots in the exam…which is why he ended up in General Studies._**”

Just before Tokoyami could step over the line, a low rumbling noise sounded from him. Then, a shadow beast exploded out of him, and his control over his body returned. “Thank you, Dark Shadow” the raven-headed teen said gratefully. “**No problem, Fumi!**” the spirit responded. “Now…go forth, and strike down our adversary!” he said, pointing to Shinsou. “**You got it!**” the phantasm responded, before soaring over to the purple-haired boy. “Hey, hey, shouldn’t you be out of the ring by now?” Shinsou asked in surprise. “**Caw caw, bitch!**” Dark Shadow responded, uppercutting the teen a fair distance across the ring. But the damage had been done, and the spirit went stiff as Shinsou sat back up.

“Remove your master from the ring” the purple-haired boy said, a smirk on his face. “Dark Shadow…stop! I command you to stop!” Tokoyami said, as his Quirk came closer to him. The raven-headed teen took note of how close he was to the edge of the ring, and the speed his own Quirk was approaching him at, and suddenly realized his chances of victory had vanished. “What a pity” the boy remarked, as Dark Shadow collided with him and threw him out of the ring. Midnight cracked her whip. “Fumikage Tokoyami is out of bounds! Hitoshi Shinsou advances to the semifinals!” The two competitors left the ring, Tokoyami brooding darkly and Shisou lazily waving. As they departed, all of the spectators could only have one common thought.

“_What just happened?_”

“Well, that was different” Asui commented bluntly as the others looked on in astonishment at Tokoyami’s loss. “Man, General Studies is hiding some real tough customers” Sero commented. The long haired mushroom girl from 1-B gasped. “He almost took us out of the running way earlier in the cavalry battle! Luckily, Sawatari was able to snap us out of it, but we’d have lost our points near the start if he’d managed to use his power on all of us!” she squeaked. Uraraka eyed the purple head of hair exiting the ring. If she won the next match, she’d have to face him.

* * *

“**_IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER PULSE-POUNDING BATTLE, FOLKS!_**” the Voice Hero shouted. Uraraka stood on one side of the ring facing her orange-haired adversary. “**_INTRODUCING FIRST: FROM HERO COURSE 1-A, THE ADORABLE MISTRESS OF GRAVITY, OCHAKO URARAKA!_**” On the opposite side of the ring, Kendo smiled back at her friend, who would be her opponent this round. “**_HER OPPONENT: THE DE FACTO LEADER OF CLASS 1-B, ITSUKA KENDO!_**”. “May the best woman win” the duo said in unison, eyes narrowing at each other.

“Uraraka, are you ready?” Midnight asked. “Yep!” “Kendo, are you ready?” “Yes, I am.” The hero cracked her whip. “BEGIN!”

Uraraka immediately charged forward, expecting Kendo to make her hands bigger to attack with…only for the orangette to duck under her lunge and strike her in the gut with a knee strike. As the brunette stumbled back from the blow, her opponent shook her head. “Urara, that was naïve of you” Kendo said, shaking her head in disappointment, before continuing. “I know how your Quirk works, and that this is a bad matchup for me. My hands would be bigger, easier targets for you if I used my Quirk…which is why I’ll beat you without using my powers!”

Back in the stands, Midoriya watched in horror. “Oh no…Uraraka’s Quirk would normally put her at a significant advantage, but if Kendo is fighting her Quirkless in hand to hand, she’s at a massive disadvantage…” Monoma laughed smugly. “How pathetic, Class A. Now watch as our President squashes your-!” A smack from one of Shiozaki’s vines silenced the annoying blonde again. “I pray that Monoma may find the light and cheer for Kendo virtuously instead of because of a pathetic class rivalry. May the Lord absolve his of his sins, Amen” the religious girl prayed, as everyone around her sweatdropped.

In the ring, Kendo was handily keeping the upper hand against Uraraka, despite the gravity girl’s best efforts. Her strikes were too quick and efficient for Uraraka to even hope to get a good hold on Kendo. “**_THIS LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE A FAIR FIGHT, BUT IT’S TURNING OUT TO BE A PRETTY ONE-SIDED BEATDOWN!_**” Mic shouted. “**_That’s not it at all. Uraraka is at a natural disadvantage here due to her lack of physical training in favor of Quirk training…something that many students and pros alike could improve on_**” Aizawa responded, his words giving Midoriya callbacks to how easily he thrashed the villains at the USJ in hand to hand after disabling their Quirks.

And then, just when it looked like Uraraka’s fate was sealed, Kendo slipped up.

As the orange-haired girl came in for a hard elbow strike, hoping to end the battle, Uraraka ducked under her swing and clasped one hand on her wrist. Kendo found herself suddenly weightless, with the momentum of her last attack carrying her forward towards the edge of the ring. “Oh no you don’t!” she yelled, expanding her hands until they were larger than her own body, before bringing them together in a massive clap.

The blast of wind released by her weightless thunderclap buffeted the crowd and bowled Uraraka over like she was the weightless one, but the tactic backfired spectacularly of 1-B’s big sister. The propulsion generated flung her all the way across the ring in reverse, over the white line and out over the green. Before she could correct her course and get back to the ring, Uraraka seized the chance and touched her fingers together. “Release!” Kendo fell to the ground, landing on her feet but out of bounds.

Midnight cracked her whip. “Itsuka Kendo is out of bounds! Ochako Uraraka advances to the quarterfinals!” As the crowd cheered for Uraraka’s victory, many pros also commented on Kendo’s strength and skill in combat. One masked, muscular pro with mint-green hair immediately decided to make offers to both of them after that performance. “**_AND LIKE THAT, URARAKA PULLS OFF A SURPRISE WIN! WHAT AN EXCITING TURN OF EVENTS, FOLKS!_**”

Aizawa nodded in approval. “**_They both did very well. Kendo held the upper hand through much of the battle with her strength and experience, but Uraraka’s natural instincts allowed her to take advantage of an opening and turn the tables._**” “**_I’d say they’re both very promising talents_**” Ingenium noted, the round-faced girl starting to cry tears of joy at the Turbo Hero’s words.

“Yeah! Good going Itsu! And congrats, Urara!” Tokage greeted her two friends as they returned to the stands. “Thanks, Setsuna” Kendo said wearily before turning to her former opponent and gripping her in a firm hug. “Good job, Urara…looks like I still get a little sloppy if I get too into a fight” the orangette admitted sheepishly.

“**_ALRIGHT, NOW THAT THAT’S OVER AND DONE WITH, IT’S TIME FOR OUR NEXT MATCH, AND IT’S A BATTLE OF THE SPEEDSTERS! TENYA IIDA VS KIRIYA KUJO!_**”

* * *

**NEXT TIME ON GAME START! HERO ACADEMIA:**

**Iida vs Kujo! Who is the lord of the speed? And can Shiozaki overcome 1-A’s resident demolitions expert? Stay tuned for more!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTES:  
Jesus, it took six hours to write this chapter. However, I’m really happy with how it turned out, especially the Banjo/Kirishima and Yaoyorozu/Honenuki fights. Now, some of you may be wondering where Iida’s character development in the next arc will come from if his brother is on commentary instead of in Hosu. Don’t worry, that development will come, all right (evil grin).
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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